Imation and Panasonic Announce Joint Development of Superdisk Drive For USB Interface. Availability To Coincide With First Shipments Of New Apple iMac Computer.
OAKDALE, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 1998
Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN) and Panasonic Industrial Company will develop the first SuperDisk drive for the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, officials of both companies announced today.
The announcement follows Wednesday's unveiling by Apple Computer of its new consumer Macintosh, iMac, which will feature two USB ports for peripherals. iMac will begin to ship in August, the same time frame in which USB SuperDisk drives also are expected to be available to iMac purchasers. Additionally, SuperDisk diskettes for the USB SuperDisk drive will be available through Imation's sales channels at that time.
The USB SuperDisk drive, like other SuperDisk drives, will be fully read/write compatible with today's PC-formatted 120 MB SuperDisk diskettes, 1.44 MB diskettes and 720 KB diskettes. It will also read and write existing Mac-formatted diskettes and Mac-formatted SuperDisk diskettes.
Further information about USB SuperDisk drive pricing will be forthcoming, officials added.
"As one of the co-developers of SuperDisk technology, Panasonic is pleased to lead in the development of yet another entry in the growing array of SuperDisk solutions," said Jeff Saake, general manager, computer components group, Panasonic Industrial Company. "The USB SuperDisk drive will be the logical storage choice for millions of iMac customers who adopt this innovative new product."
"With the impressive speed and power of iMac, users will be able to handle very large amounts of data in the form of graphics, sound and video files, and Internet downloads," said Ray Meifert, SuperDisk business director, Imation. "For millions of loyal Mac users, compatibility with existing floppies is critical. Among available, high-capacity storage options, SuperDisk technology offers the advantage of compatibility with existing diskettes as well as 120 MB SuperDisk diskettes from Imation. We believe that iMac users will find USB SuperDisk technology as the best and most reliable tool to handle those high-capacity needs without giving up what they're used to using -- standard 3.5-inch diskettes."
"We designed iMac to deliver all the things consumers want -- the excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of a Macintosh," said Phil Schiller, vice president of worldwide product marketing at Apple Computer Inc. "Today's announcement from Imation and Panasonic shows that -- at launch -- iMac customers will have great add-on options to complement the Internet-age computer for the rest of us."
Panasonic Industrial Company (PIC), a division of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, has a long and distinguished history of serving the North American manufacturing sector. PIC's aim is to support local manufacturing with products, technologies, and services that promote its customers' immediate and long term goals. PIC's OEM industrial electronic components and subsystems are geared to a diverse range of industries. PIC operates as a marketing interface between its North American customers and the Matsushita Group's global manufacturing capabilities.
Imation Corp. supplies a variety of products and services worldwide for the imaging and information industry. Imation is a world-leading supplier of branded, removable media for data storage applications. Imation products are supported by a worldwide customer service organization. In 1997, the company generated revenues of $2.2 billion. Imation employs approximately 9,500 people and is based in Oakdale, Minn.
Additional information about Imation is available on the company's Web site at www.imation.com or by calling Imation toll-free at 1-888-466-3456.
CONTACT: Imation Corp.
Jason Thunstrom
(612) 704-3164 / jsthunstrom@imation.com
or
Panasonic Industrial Company
Jeff Saake, Computer Components Group
(408) 942-2938 |
