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

To: s. bateh who wrote (47339)	2/9/1998 7:14:00 PM
From: Dale Stempson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

Re: HiFD S, on a more serious note, recent press confirms the introduction delay from the original Spring release to what now is stated to be a Summer release. There also appears to be very little in the way of recent news or updates regarding the drive. The Sony website (HiFD info) has not been revised and continues to show the Spring release date. More significant however is that there has been no mention of any company having signed on with Sony. While Teac and Alps have been mentioned as HiFD supporters and potential manufacturing partners, I am not aware of a single company that has stated it is planning to incorporate the HiFD as either a standard or an option in any of its SKUs, and that includes Sony itself. Sony has clearly indicated that their plan is to target OEMS. Even without the Zip as competition, I would think Sony would probably have a tough time convincing OEMs to incorporate a brand new product that has zero existing demand. I believe Iomega knew this when they began offering the Zip and that is why they went to the aftermarket first (in part to create that essential OEM demand). Regardless, if HiFD does eventually make its way to market, I wouldn't at all be surprised if it turns out to be a very good product, and one that is adopted by at least a few OEMs. Beyond that, I think the LS-120 has given us a clue as to what we can expect in the way of competition. Perhaps if the Zip and the HiFD had both came out at the same time a few years ago, Sony would today own the market. With 12 million units out there, compatibility is now more than ever a major competitive issue. The bottom line here IMO is that the Zip simply has too far a headstart for Sony to catch up. Regards - Dale