Lawrence,
Can't argue with most of what you said, but <<"Conner, by explicitly targeting to be late to market, guarantees losses as far as the eye can see.">> I don't agree with.
Conner is using lagging edge technology (if you call 4.3GB/platter lagging when that's where Seagate is currently parked) to design specifically for the fastest growing PC segment; the sub $500 PC.
The only other company that has a design specifically for that market is Seagate with their U2 and now the U4. The Conner and Seagate designs are for two platters maximum. You can't take a 3 or 4 platter design, de-populate it to one or two platters, and expect to compete on a Bill Of Material basis.
I would also submit that the others, specifically WD, Fujitsu and Samsung and possibly Maxtor and Quantum, will, or have, dropped their design to cost projects to come up with a less than $60 OEM HDD and have conceded that market segment to Seagate and Conner.
JTS was a "me too" company that tried to create a new form factor, the 3-inch, Had Mitchell listened to one of his own, instead of flogging the 3-inch dead horse, they would have had a design for $60 in the market today. They had the fixens to do it. Ah, but that's another sorry.
Regards,
LT |
