I don't think that this article has been posted here, though its from early last week. Note the aggressive pricing at the bottom for Bigfoot. If they can make money on those drives at those prices, I think they'll do OK.
Monday September 21, 11:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Quantum Corporation Announces Industry's Highest
Capacity Value-Class Desktop Drive
New Quantum Bigfoot Drives Feature Lowest Cost Per Megabyte and Increased Reliability With Shock Protection
System Technology
MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 1998-- Continuing its capacity and value leadership position in the desktop storage
market and leveraging the fully automated capability of its manufacturing partner, Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd.
(MKE), Quantum Corporation (NMS:QNTM) today introduced the Bigfoot(TM) TS series of hard disk drives.
These exceptionally affordable products feature mainstream performance and capacities of 6.4GB, 8.4GB, 12.7GB and 19.2GB. Bigfoot
TS is the third Quantum product and the first 5.25-inch product to include Quantum's exclusive Shock Protection System (SPS), a
technology advancement that addresses the industry-wide concern of hard disk drive reliability.
Designed for consumers, small business owners and value-oriented commercial PC users, Quantum's Bigfoot TS offers generous
storage capacity for software requirements such as desktop publishing, playing today's popular video games, storing electronic
photographs, video streaming and many other capacity-craving applications.
In addition to offering its customers the highest capacity desktop drive for the lowest cost per megabyte, Quantum, with its exclusive
manufacturing partner, MKE, also ranks as the leading volume supplier.
With its fully automated manufacturing processes, MKE quickly ramps one of the highest quality products to meet customer volume
requirements. When combined, MKE's precision manufacturing processes and Quantum's new SPS make the Bigfoot TS one of the
most reliable hard disk drive products on the market today.
Bigfoot TS is the first generation Bigfoot family to feature SPS, or Shock Protection System. Quantum introduced SPS in April 1998
on Quantum's Fireball EL and subsequent Fireball EX hard disk drives. SPS is an exclusive technological advancement by Quantum,
which optimizes the hard drive's design platform to protect against the impact of mishandling during shipping or integration into a
PC.
For more information on SPS, please refer to Quantum's web site at www.quantum.com.
''HP Brio customers want a reliable, aggressively-priced PC with a full range of price and performance choices,'' said Jean-Jacques
Ozil, HP Brio marketing manager. ''By integrating Quantum's Bigfoot TS hard drive with its field-proven SPS technology, HP Brio
again ups the ante for PC performance and reliability.''
''We're very excited about Bigfoot TS because it offers our customers a winning combination of the highest capacity/value in the
market today,'' said Barbara Nelson, Quantum's vice president and general manager of the Desktop and Personal Storage Group.
''With that combination and Quantum's commitment to provide safe storing and reliable delivery of our customer's data, the new
Bigfoot TS is a solid storage option for consumers, small business and value-oriented commercial PC users.''
The new Quantum Bigfoot TS drives feature improved performance over previous generations with enhanced firmware and a
512KB buffer. The drives also feature the latest recording technology, including MR heads, a PRML read channel, high internal data
rates and an Ultra ATA interface.
The advanced technology delivers an extraordinary capacity of 6.4GB per platter, fast sequential performance and high reliability. The
drives utilize the standard 5.25-inch footprint, and easily mount in virtually all 5.25-inch mass storage bays.
Pricing and Availability
Quantum Bigfoot TS volume production begins October 1998. The manufacturers suggested retail prices (MSRP) are:
Quantum Bigfoot TS 6.4 Ultra ATA $169
Quantum Bigfoot TS 8.4 Ultra ATA $199
Quantum Bigfoot TS 12.7 Ultra ATA $299
Quantum Bigfoot TS 19.2 Ultra ATA $399 |
