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To: Joe Lyddon who wrote (3718)	5/5/1999 4:12:00 PM
From: chris431	Respond to of 18366

IBM's Microdrive: Power to Go -I couldn't help but find this ironic (4th paragraph) after my earlier comments regarding "Clik." wired.com IBM's Microdrive: Power to Go by Lindsey Arent 3:00 a.m. 5.May.99.PDT IBM has unleashed the first product incorporating its eagerly anticipated microdrive. But don't expect its new subnotebook to eat into 3Com profits anytime soon. The WorkPad z50 bears striking physical resemblance to the IBM ThinkPad, runs on Windows CE and is designed to be a mobile extension to a desktop PC. The matchbook-sized microdrive can store up to 340 MB of data, enough high-capacity storage to support a variety of memory-hungry mobile products. It's bad news for Iomega's struggling Clik drive whose meager 40 MB storage capacity is dwarfed by the microdrive's ability to store, say, 1,000 compressed photographs in a digital camera. The removable drive fits into a CompactFlash Type II slot so that it can be used with digital cameras, MPEG video players, MP3 audio players, and GPS receivers. But the microdrive is not compatible with IBM's own WorkPad line of PDAs, which do not have CompactFlash Type II slots. That leaves the market open to Hewlett Packard, Casio, and Palmax. Howard Dulany, program manager of Workpad market development at IBM, downplayed the threat. "We deal in different markets." The Workpad z50 will be attractive for workers who need access to networks while in the field, Dulany said, whereas palm-size devices typically appeal to users who need to perform simpler data entry functions. Still, competition will be stiff. In 1998, palm-sized PCs ruled the market, with 1.5 million units shipped, compared to 575,000 handhelds, and a measly 31,000 subnotebooks. Will the extra memory tempt the decidedly Palm-loving public to switch to IBM's larger, 2.6-pound handheld? "It all boils down to power," said Van Baker, director of market research for Dataquest. If the microdrive sucks too much power from a battery-operated device, like a digital camera or an e-book, "then people won't use it. There is no trade-off."