SyQuest Announces Breakthrough 4.7 Gigabyte
Removable Cartridge Storage Technology -- The Rocket
Platform
Thursday February 27 8:29 AM EDT
Super-Capacity Drives Will Break Existing Barriers in High-end Applications, Leveraging IBM and Headway Component Technologies
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 1997-- SyQuest Technology Inc today announced a radically advanced removable cartridge storage technology -- the Rocket platform --expected to be incorporated into certain future SyQuest products by year end.
Beginning at 4.7 gigabytes of capacity, the new technology is expected to break existing barriers for removable storage in a range of high-end applications -- including workstations, servers, jukeboxes
and audio-video editing -- and is ideally suited for new MMX multimedia systems. It leverages leading-edge hard disk technology by integrating IBM's PRML read channel chip and Headway's
new dual stripe magneto resistive (MR) recording heads into the Rocket platform.
"This is expected to be the first removable cartridge hard drive technology to serve the most demanding needs of serious computer developers and IT managers," said Ed Harper, SyQuest
president and CEO. "In collaboration with world-class innovators such as IBM and Headway, we have set the stage for a totally new era in removable cartridge storage that we believe will surpass
current DVD mastering technologies."
The Rocket platform is a high-performance removable Winchester drive technology that exploits the speeds of ultra-wide SCSI and sets the stage for follow-on products at higher capacities. Initially,
the Rocket platform is expected to enable users to utilize up to 4.7 GB of data -- equivalent to a full-length feature movie -- onto a single hard disk cartridge.
Based on early performance data, it is anticipated that the first product of the Rocket platform will sustain a maximum data transfer rate of 10.6 MB per second, have an average seek time of 11 msec
and have a 2 MB intelligent cache buffer. The platform will be adaptable to different form factors, opening up the technology to an increased range of applications.
"SyQuest is on the cutting edge with its new Rocket technology," said John MacKay, president and CEO of Headway. "By incorporating our dual stripe MR heads into this platform, they are building-in both high performance and much greater resistance to potential contaminants, thus creating a very robust technology."
SyQuest's Harper will discuss the new Rocket technology and its implications at the Robertson Stephens conference on Friday, Feb. 28, at 10:30 AM at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco.
About SyQuest
SyQuest Technology, Inc. is headquartered in Fremont, and maintains manufacturing plants in Fremont and Penang, Malaysia, with additional facilities in Colorado, California, Europe and Asia. The company offers removable cartridge hard drives for Apple, Windows, MS-DOS, PC-DOS, UNIX, SGI and Sun OS platforms. SyQuest (SYQT) is publicly traded on NASDAQ's National Market System. See SyQuest on the World Wide Web at syquest.com .
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including competition in the marketplace for the company's products and other risks detailed from time to time
in the reports filed by SyQuest with the SEC, including the reports on recently-filed Forms 10-Q and 10-K.
Note to Editors: SyQuest and the SyQuest logo are registered trademarks of SyQuest Technology, Inc. Rocket is a trademark of SyQuest Technology, Inc. All other brands or tradenames are the
property of their respective companies.
CONTACT: SyQuest Technology, Inc.
Nicole Medgin, 415/962-9550
nmedgin@miller.shandwick.com
or
Miller/Shandwick Technologies
Amy Reardon, 510/226-4000
amy.reardon@syquest.com |
