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Non-Tech : Iomega Thread without Iomega -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BeachBum who wrote (7478)	2/21/1999 11:53:00 AM
From: Ken Pomaranski	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 10072

<< Ken... As a bear who tries to use logic, I'll ask you this question. If the removable market hasn't much potential for profit and is not worth entering why are so many big boys trying to enter it: IBM, SONY, Compaq ( Superdisk consortium ) etc... >> That is a very good and concise question. Let me give you my views: Generally, when you at at the whims of someone else to make a profit, (the OEM model) it is difficult to make money. The part of the value chain that makes the final product (the computer) squeezes everything underneath it. PC makers are getting squeezed as PC prices keep dropping. Hence, they put the clamps on their suppliers. Iomega did much better when they where selling directly to the consumer. Unfortunately, that market has started to saturate, shifting unit volumes toward the much lower margin OEM devices. I have said for 3 years now that this would happen... The 'treadmill effect'. CLIK! is doomed for much the same reason. Somehow, they must FORCE manufacturers to include this device. But this just adds WAY too much to the factory cost. So they are stuck with the aftermarket. Unfortunately, in the aftermarket, it is a direct competitor with ZIP. Also, it's value proposition is difficult to understand (for Joe Blow..) and the potential market ($500+ devices) is too small to make a difference. The much better model is the flash and IBM removable disk model. With these devices, there is NO COST BURDEN on the ultimate manufacturer. People here keep throwing out this cost/Mbyte calculation. This may be important in the long run, but it misses the most important item: initial cost for the first Mbyte. kp