Iomega Smashes Barriers In Personal Tape Backup Market; External Ditto Easy 800 is less than half the price of competitors' products

Business Wire, Sept 18, 1995

ROY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 1995--Iomega Corporation (NASDAQ:IOMG) today announced Ditto Easy 800, the first external 800MB tape backup drive available for less than $150 (U.S.).

Iomega's new Windows 95-compatible backup drive is half the price of currently available competitive tape backup products.

The Ditto Easy 800 drive provides consumers with one of the most reliable, convenient and inexpensive ways to save information in the transition to Windows 95, and to protect their most important files, such as home finance, tax and personal budgeting information.

Setting a new standard, the Ditto Easy 800 is the first easy-to-use tape drive that allows customers to save the contents of their hard-disk drive in just one simple step, as opposed to the complicated backup process required with competitive products. Iomega's Ditto Easy 800 is lightweight, portable and designed to be installed and running within minutes.

Iomega expects that, starting in October, the Ditto Easy 800 will be sold nationwide through leading computer and consumer electronics stores and catalogue companies. Iomega's new backup drive will be available in both external and internal versions for an estimated street price of $149.95 (U.S.).

"We have overcome the two major hurdles related to backing up on a PC - price and ease of use," said Timothy L. Hill, Iomega's vice president of worldwide marketing. "An increasing amount of critical information is being saved on the PC, both at home and in the small office, requiring users to consider some form of information insurance. With Ditto Easy 800, customers finally have an easy, affordable way to guarantee that the information on their PC is safe and protected from loss."

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), 3.3 million personal tape backup products were sold worldwide in 1994 by all suppliers. IDC expects almost 4 million to be sold in 1995, an increase of 20 percent.

Defining New Standards in Ease-of-Use

With Ditto Easy 800, Iomega offers customers a product that breaks down barriers to protecting information on the PC.

-- Industry's First 1-Step Backup Interface: Iomega has designed unique new "1-Step" software that backs up the hard-disk drive in a single step. Customers click on a single icon and continue working while Ditto Easy 800 backs up information in the background.

-- Easy to install: The external version of Ditto Easy 800 plugs easily into the printer port (with pass-through capability for the printer), alleviating the need to open the computer to install the drive. The new backup drive can be placed either horizontally or vertically, to fit seamlessly onto the desktop.

The external Ditto Easy 800 also sports a new, sleek design in concert with the breakthrough look of Iomega's Zip and Jaz drives.

-- Universal: Ditto Easy 800 supports all leading QIC tape formats, including Travan, QIC-WIDE and standard QIC cartridges, so the customer can choose any tape.

-- Broad software compatibility: The Ditto Easy 800 is compatible with Windows 95, previous versions of Windows, OS/2, DOS, Novell and LANtastic operating environments.

Iomega's new "1-step" software is expected to be available to current Ditto customers for $29.95. Customers can call 800-998-0031 for more information.

Easy for the Channel

Iomega's Ditto Easy 800 is expected to be an ideal solution for the channel. By introducing the new product at unprecedented prices, Iomega is providing a turnkey backup solution for approximately ten percent of the average selling price of a PC. Ditto's easy-to-use software and the market-proven reliability of Travan technology will increase customer satisfaction.

To assist retailers in the Ditto Easy 800 selling process, Iomega is also launching a program that includes special merchandising materials and palettes that will help retailers educate their customers about the benefits of backing up.

Iomega's Storage Expertise

According to International Data Corporation, Iomega is the third largest tape backup supplier in the world and the number one supplier in Europe. The company offers a full family of reliable backup drives with capacities ranging from 420MB to 3.2 gigabytes of storage. The Ditto Easy 800 and Ditto 3200 offer Travan compatibility, allowing customers to save and restore their entire hard-disk on a single tape.

The Ditto family of tape drives provides users with one of the most reliable value-packed backup solutions available today. In addition to breakthrough pricing, each drive uses a beltless drive mechanism so there are no belts to stretch or break.

Iomega also offers a line of Ditto accessories including Ditto Dash, an accelerator card that cuts backup time in half; the Ditto carrying case, a lightweight case for all external Ditto drives; Ditto tape cartridges; and a software upgrade to support OS/2.

Iomega Corporation provides personal computer storage solutions that help people manage their computer stuff -- anywhere. These solutions include Zip drives and disks, later this year, the Jaz one-gigabyte drives and disks, Ditto tape backup drives and tape cartridges, and the Bernoulli line of removable drives and disks. Used in homes, business, government, education, and by creative professionals, Iomega storage solutions are available through computer retail stores, resellers and major distributors. The company can be reached at 800-MY-STUFF (800-697-8833) or 801-778-1000. -0-