Re: SparQ
Gary, You said to me "I have never trashed the product itself." Well, I never said you did. What I said was "I wouldn't be so quick to trash what Syquest is doing with the SparQ." Perhaps I could have been more clear. I simply meant that the SparQ has the potential to keep the company alive, grab some market share, impact some of Iomega's future sales and give Syquest the opportunity to build on a good thing.
One point that you and others have made here is that there's room enough in the segment for more than one player. I agree with this. In fact, there's probably room for a host of players to be at least moderately successful providing removables with unique characteristics. Today, the Shark, Jaz, Zip, LS-120, SyJet and even Nomai drives can each potentially be the best solution depending on the customers' specific needs. Within six months there will likely be a few more hot products to add to the list.
However... I believe there will be only one BIG winner. Compatibility will be a key issue here. Certainly this is a major factor with the Zip's continuing success. As a result, IMO the SparQ has a somewhat limited potential. While compatibility is a lesser issue for larger capacity removables, it will be a factor for some. This is certainly a plus for that Jaz and its large installed base.
So, while the removable market proceeds to grow in leaps and bounds, the SparQ will be fighting it out with the Jaz and a host of others for its piece of the higher capacity sub-segment. I think it will probably do well here. But how big is this sub-segment? Well, if we could agree on this then perhaps we could put a reasonable estimate on the SparQ's potential. I happen to believe that the SparQ would be a smash hit if it could sell a million units next year.
Regards - Dale |
