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Non-Tech : Any info about Iomega (IOM)? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (42850)	1/8/1998 7:40:00 PM
From: Dale Stempson	Respond to of 58324

Well Ken, if Sony can actually produce this drive at a price competitive with existing floppy drives, then I'd agree they have a real chance of securing OEMs without initial HiFD demand. The price point issue is a MAJOR factor in the argument for HiFD, so because of this I went back and reviewed as many past press releases, product discussions and Sony website references as I could. The only mention of future pricing (I could find) came from a 10/27/97 Electronics Buyer's News article: "Sony would not disclose prices, but said the HiFD will be competitive with existing floppy drives for the volume consumer market." Sony does not confirm this in any of their propaganda as far as I can tell. They did say back in October that pricing would be released within 60 days. It's now been 90 days and still no word. One comment from one writer in one article with no confirmation is not enough for me to believe that Sony can actually deliver at the price point mentioned. If you have any more info regarding Sony's rumored price point I would appreciate it if you would post it. TIA Regards - Dale

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (42850)	1/8/1998 7:40:00 PM
From: AreWeThereYet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

Ken >> If it is as cost effective as a floppy, it's a no lose proposition from the PC box makers standpoint. They can just drop this drive in instead of the floppy, and BINGO! << I agree with your concern. Even if it is cost effective as floppy (both the drive and media), all box makers will still bundle a floppy on every non-NetPC/NC machine they sell for another 1 to 2 years. Floppy is still a must for now. >> Sony WILL sell these drives at a loss to gain this market. << I can't comment on this because too early to tell. >> FACT: Iomega is running out of time << Yes, both Sony and Iomega are racing against time now, especially true to IOM. If Zip lost the battle, IOM will lost most of its value too. Sony OTOH is in a more relax mode since fail to kill Zip will not have any significant negative effect on Sony. Good Luck aC

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (42850)	1/8/1998 7:56:00 PM
From: Dale Stempson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

One last comment on the Sony price point issue... I ran across an article (12/8 TechWeb) for the Caleb UHD drive in which they state: "Just weeks after Sony Electronics Inc. announced that its HiFD drive will be designed to lead the market in both capacity and performance, Caleb said it intends to undercut its competitors by selling its UHD drive for about $55 in OEM volumes. For Caleb, analysts said, the issue is whether it will be able to maintain its price advantage over established suppliers such as Iomega Corp., which is producing 1 million Zip drives per month. Iomega may be selling the Zip at an OEM price of between $60 and $70 by the time of the UHD's introduction, said Jason Golz, an analyst at Peripheral Research Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif." It would appear that at least Caleb has the opinion that the HiFD will cost more than $55 (hardly competitive with existing floppy drives). Regards - Dale

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (42850)	1/8/1998 9:02:00 PM
From: Brendan2012	Respond to of 58324

>>(remember, Sony said that the drive would cost 'about the same' as the current floppies. or at least 'competitive with'.)<< I actually don't remember that. I would be surprized if Sony could get the HiFD lower than the cost of Zip+floppy. Where is the advantage if you can get Zip+floppy for less? Capacity and speed won't do it, IMO. >>Sony WILL sell these drives at a loss to gain this market. AND the demand is all the floppy drives that are currently going into PCs.<< That remains to be seen. >>FACT: I look in the paper, and still don't see PCs with ZIPs in them<< I hope that improves soon! Brendan