( BW)(SYQUEST)(SYQT) SyQuest Announces Breakthrough 4.7 Gigabyte
Removable Cartridge Storage Technology -- The Rocket Platform;
Super-Capacity Drives Will Break Existing Barriers in High-end
Applications, Leveraging IBM and Headway Component Technologies
Business Editors & Computer Writers
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 1997--SyQuest
Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYQT) 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.
--I got two turntables and a microphone...
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