The future of magneto-resistive (MR) drives. High capacity removable storage with fast data transfer rates suitable for digital video. Possible competitor to DVD. No problem -- CUBE's chips work with DVD, hard disks, cable, satellite, and any kind of stored or transmitted MPEG digital video.
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Removable Drives to Replace Hard Disks, Industry Pioneer Says
August 27, 1998 (PENANG, Malaysia) -- Removable drives will replace
hard disk drives eventually, said industry pioneer Syed Iftikar, president and
CEO of Castlewood Systems Inc.
He made his comment in an interview with Asia BizTech on Aug. 13, when
manufacturing for the company's ORB 2.16GB magneto-resistive (MR)
removable drive was launched by its first strategic partner, Trans Capital
Holding Bhd., a local contract manufacturer.
Syed was the founder of SyQuest Technology Inc. and co-founder of
Seagate Technology Inc., where he invented the 5.25-in. hard disk drive.
Castlewood Systems was founded in September 1996 and is a
privately-held company based in Pleasanton, Calif.
Syed is pioneering the use of MR technology and Giant Magneto Resistive
(GMR) technology licensed from IBM Corp. in removable drives.
Asia BizTech: The disk drive industry is in crisis with weakened demand,
staff layoffs and restructuring among the players. It seems awkward that a
new player is entering the fray under these circumstances, especially with
manufacturing partners based in Asia. Can you comment on your move?
Syed: Being an entrepreneur and a pioneer is never easy. But change is
important. We have succeeded in making a high capacity, fast product which
no one else can rival in terms of performance and cost.
The ORB is the first removable 3.5-in. MR cartridge drive with a capacity of
2.16GB and data throughput rate of 12.2Mbps, the fastest transfer rate of
any removable media product available today, making it completely
video-capable.
Castlewood will solely focus on R&D and marketing and leave assembly
manufacturing and supply of advanced components to our partners. We
don't expect to have layoffs. I chose Penang because I want to make it the
capital of the removable drive industry of the world, the way Singapore is
now known as the leading hard disk drive supplier of the world. I think we
can achieve this by the year 2000.
(Removable storage market leaders Iomega Corp. and SyQuest Technology
Inc. already make the majority of their products out of Penang-based plants.
-- Asia BizTech)
Asia BizTech: What kind of targets has Castlewood set for itself?
Syed: Our research indicates we have a demand for over 10 million drives a
year from both OEM and retail channels valued at US$2 billion. Every OEM
the company has spoken to has expressed the need for large quantities.
By March 1999, with two plants in Malaysia and one in Japan, we expect to
ramp up manufacturing to about a million drives per quarter, and even that
won't be enough. We may license Sony Corp. and Acer Inc. for additional
products.
Our next product will have a capacity of between 2GB and 10GB.
By the year 2000, we will have the technology and capability to produce
10GB drives using GMR heads at a very low cost. It'll be like buying a
Ferrari for the price of a Volkswagen. [Competitor to DVD-RAM?]
As long as we continue that strategy and we don't fall off that path, then we
are safe.
Asia BizTech: Various proprietary technologies seem to be competing for
the same desktop space. Why should the ORB succeed?
Syed: The ORB drive outperforms other removable drive technology such
as magneto optical, optical DVD, inductive head, high-density floppies and
tape. Iomega has a very expensive MR product which they are redesigning
for low cost, while SyQuest has a low-cost product with limited capacity.
With an ORB drive you get a very fast, high capacity drive at an affordable
cost.
The CD-ROM took five years to become popular as it was priced at
US$250 when it was first introduced. Only when it broke the US$99 price
barrier did it become popular, and DVD drives are going through the same
thing -- they're too expensive. Price is the magic. The ORB drive retails at
US$199.95 with one disk for consumers and US$149 for OEMs integrating
it into PCs. Additional 2.16GB cartridges are priced at US$29.95.
Over time, we expect to sell our drives at US$99, and through joint ventures
with Sony Corp. and Hitachi Maxell Ltd., we will introduce the
next-generation, low-cost cartridges that can store and play a full-length
movie for only US$10. If you buy three cartridges, that's a total of 6GB at
US$130. You cannot buy a 6GB drive today for that price. The ORB is a
far more viable alternative for upgrading capacity, backup and transport
applications, and downloading huge multimedia files from the Internet.
Asia BizTech: Is the PC market the primary market for the ORB drives?
Syed: Information comes in three formats: text, audio and video. Video is the
new face of technology, and that is why we're targeting the VCR and set-top
box markets as well.
I see a new class of computers, low-cost PC-TVs, priced under US$1,000,
emerging possibly with integrated ORB drives. Instead of using the VHS
tape, consumers will also be using video recorders with ORB drives. It will
have digital quality video and sound. No more time delay when rewinding,
and there will be fast forwarding, all instantaneous.
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. already has a product called HDR-1 which
incorporates an ORB drive and will be available on the shelves this
Christmas season.
Aiwa Co., Ltd. will follow soon after with an ORB drive product in its digital
home systems product.
We are also in talks with movie studios to make ORB cartridges a preferred
storage medium for distribution.
Asia BizTech: Do you think removable drives will one day replace HDDs?
Syed: I firmly believe so. The market is gradually switching to removable
drives. Eighty percent of PC consumers do not need more than 2GB of
storage anyway. Only professional users need higher capacity and
performance and that is a small market. With our next-generation product,
consumers will not need a hard drive when you can buy a removable drive
for much cheaper over the long run. No need for costly upgrades every year.
Asia BizTech: Do you have plans to list the company? Are you afraid of
being bought out?
Syed: We plan to list on the NASDAQ by July next year. Currently the
company is controlled by various private investors. If anyone wants to give
us a US$1 billion, they can buy us out. [Any takers ou there?]
(Julian Matthews, Asia BizTech Correspondent) |
