Akia Corp. Adds Notebook to Ultra-Slim, High Performance Tornado Series; The Tornado TS166 Breaks the Price/Performance Barrier into High Performance Notebooks

Business Wire, Oct 2, 1997

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 1997--Akia Corp., a direct provider and developer of uniquely packaged, leading technology desktop and mobile computing products, today announced the addition of the Tornado TS166 to its Tornado line of notebook computers.

Starting at just $2,899, the Tornado TS166 establishes a new value entry into the high performance notebook market. Designed with Intel's 166MHz Pentium(R) processor with MMXT technology and Intel's Mobile Module Packaging, the Tornado TS166 takes advantage of the ultra-slim design of the Tornado series, weighing less than 5 pounds and measuring just over 1" thick. Other products in the Tornado Series include the Tornado TS233 and TS200, which are designed with Intel's 233MHz and 200MHz Mobile Pentium processors with MMX technology and Intel's Mobile Module Packaging.

"With the Tornado TS166, many customers will, for the first time, be able to afford a high-performance notebook computer," said Dr. David Register, president of Akia Corp. "Akia is aggressively addressing mobile computing needs by providing direct to the customer, ultra-thin, ultra-light, high performance notebooks. This gives the 'road-warrior' more choices, and now, an even lower price point than ever before."

Priced at just $2,899, the Tornado TS166 ships with standard features including a 12.1" SVGA Active Matrix display, 32MB EDO RAM, 256K Level 2 Pipeline Burst Cache, 2.1GB Enhance IDE hard drive, a 10X Max variable CD-ROM drive, a 3.5" floppy disk drive, a 2MB 128-bit PCI graphics accelerator, 16-bit stereo sound system, high speed infrared port, USB ports, TV-out port, a smart Lithium Ion battery and Microsoft Windows 95(R) pre-installed. Available options include a second Lithium Ion battery, 56K PCMCIA modem and memory upgrades.

The Tornado TS166 will start shipping in mid-October 1997. All Akia products are sold direct to the customer and are backed by a one-year limited warranty, a 30-day money back guarantee and toll-free customer support. For more information on Akia Corp., USA and its products call 800/936-5481 or 512/339-4804, or contact www.akia.com .

The Tornado Series Product Line:

Akia Tornado TX233 ($4,599)

Features include 233MHz Mobile Pentium processor with MMX technology and Intel's Mobile Module Package; 13.3" XGA Active Matrix display; 64MB RAM memory (128MB Max.); 3.0GB enhanced IDE hard drive; 20X Max variable CD-ROM drive; FlexaBay(TM) feature -- accepts CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy or optional 2nd Lithium Ion battery; 128-bit PCI graphics accelerator; high performance infrared port; USB port; TV-Out (NTSC) port; PS/2 port; Smart Lithium Ion battery; Microsoft Windows 95 pre-installed; carrying case included.

Akia Tornado TS200 ($3,499)

Features 200MHz Mobile Pentium processor with MMX technology and Intel's Mobile Module Package; 12.1" SVGA Active Matrix display; 32MB RAM memory (128MB Max.); 2.1GB enhanced IDE hard drive; 20X Max variable CD-ROM drive; FlexaBay feature -- accepts CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy or optional 2nd Lithium Ion battery; 128-bit PCI graphics accelerator; high performance infrared port; USB port; TV-Out (NTSC) port; PS/2 port; Smart Lithium Ion battery; Microsoft Windows 95 pre-installed; carrying case included.

Akia Tornado TS166 ($2,899)

Features 166MHz Pentium processor with MMX technology and Intel's Mobile Module Package; 12.1" SVGA Active Matrix display; 32MB RAM memory (128MB Max.); 2.1GB enhanced IDE hard drive; 10X Max variable CD-ROM drive; FlexaBay feature -- accepts CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy or optional 2nd Lithium Ion battery; 128-bit PCI graphics accelerator; high performance infrared port; USB port; TV-Out (NTSC) port; PS/2 port; Smart Lithium Ion battery; Microsoft Windows 95 pre-installed.

About Akia Corp.

Founded in 1995, Akia Corp. was established in Japan by Katsumi Iizuka, a former president of Dell Computer Japan. Iizuka, who while at Dell pioneered selling PCs direct in Japan, based Akia Corp. on the same direct model. In less than two years, Akia, Japan has been recognized as one of the fastest growing computer companies. In June 1997, Dr. David S. Register, also a former Dell executive, began the organization of Akia Corp., USA.

Headquartered in Austin, Akia Corp., USA is committed to offering the best and latest available desktop and mobile technologies direct to the customer. Akia products are uniquely packaged and designed computing solutions ideal for small work space environments including home offices, corporate cubicles, warehouse or remote office settings where space is a premium. The growing family of products includes the Mystique LCD monitors, micro footprint desktop and the Tornado high performance notebook computers. -0-

Note to Editors: Akia, Mystique, Tornado, and FlexaBay are trademarks of Akia Corporation. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks, and MMX is a trademark of Intel Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

CONTACT: ICL Retail Systems

Lauren Peters, 512/794-9661