Varo Vision to Integrate Iomega's Clik Drive Into Digital Audio Products; Iomega Announces First OEM to Build Clik! Drive into Digital Audio Recorder

Business Wire, Dec 22, 1998

ROY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22, 1998--Iomega Corporation (NYSE:IOM) today announced that Varo Vision has signed a letter of intent to build the Clik!(tm) drive into their Digital Pocket Solution (DPS), an MP3 audio recorder/player with an electronic address book and voice recorder.

Under the terms of the non-binding letter of intent, Varo Vision, a worldwide supplier of standards-based audio and video compression and decompression engines based in Korea, expects to begin offering the DPS product in 1999. Expected to be available for an estimated street price under $300 (U.S.), the DPS product is being designed to feature MP3 capabilities, and allow consumers to store and recall voicemail and telephone numbers.

"Varo Vision, the first company to announce a digital audio product with Iomega's Clik! drive built in, will be delivering the unprecedented convenience of Iomega's Clik! drive solution to users of portable digital products," said James C. Kelly, president of Iomega's mobile storage division. "Varo Vision's decision to incorporate Clik! drives into their DPS product clearly demonstrates the Clik! drive's versatility as a technology enabler."

Clik!(tm) drives are designed to bring unlimited storage to handheld digital products through 40 megabyte Clik! disks. The Clik! drive is designed to be an ideal storage companion for today's portable products, from digital cameras and handheld personal computers to portable devices. Also, with the potential to connect to virtually any portable digital or desktop product, customers will be able to easily share information between products and synchronize it back to a desktop computer.

"As part of the solutions provided by Varo Vision's portable digital recorders and audio players, the Clik! drive plays an important role in the widespread utilization of our products," said Dr. Jean Koh, president and CEO of Varo Vision. "By using Clik! disks, Varo Vision users can have unlimited storage. Each disk allows our customers to save up to 40 minutes of MP3 compressed `digital quality' music files, or 10 hours of continuous voice recording."

Clik!(tm) disks are designed to store more than current mobile storage solutions and cost much less. At an estimated street price as low as $9.99 (U.S.) each when purchased in a 10 pack, Clik! disks are designed to provide the most affordable, high-capacity storage option for multiple markets. Iomega began shipping Clik! digital camera bundles last week.

Record/Play(tm)

Separately from the non-binding letter of intent, Varo Vision is also currently exploring ways to support Iomega's Record/Play(tm) initiative announced at Comdex, which is designed to protect the rights of artists while meeting consumers' demands to download intellectual content from the internet.

Record/Play is a broad technology initiative designed to provide a secure channel for the distribution of content and intellectual property over the Internet. Using Record/Play, developers will be able to encrypt music, content or data to Iomega storage products using a copy protection technique that will bind the content to the disk. The content can then be replayed only from the disk to which it was recorded. Any attempt to reproduce the recorded content will not be readable from another disk.

About Varo Vision

Founded in 1994, Varo Vision is headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Varo Vision is committed to being the leading worldwide supplier of standards-based audio and video CODEC (COmpression and DECompression) engines. The company's core MPEG technology delivers the industry's highest-quality, most efficient compression performance. Varo Vision's CODEC engines are used by companies who deal with digital video for satellite and broadcast television, DVD, the Internet and corporate networks. The company can be reached at 82-2-3453-9768, or on the Web at http://www.varovision.com

About Iomega

Iomega Corporation (NYSE:IOM) manufactures and markets the award-winning Zip(R), Jaz(R), Ditto(R) and Clik!(tm) drives and disks that help people organize, manage, create, exchange and share their important information. Used in homes, businesses, government, education and by creative professionals everywhere, Iomega storage solutions are the enabling technologies preferred by millions. The Company can be reached at 1-800-MY-STUFF (800-697-8833), or on the Web at http://www.iomega.com.

Special note: Statements in this release relating to the planned pricing and performance specifications of Clik!(tm) drives and disks, Varo Vision's plans to manufacture and sell portable electronic products incorporating Clik! drives, and the expected availability and pricing of these devices are forward looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward looking statements. These factors include, among others, the success of Iomega's relationship with Varo Vision, market acceptance of, and demand for, Clik! drives and disks, manufacturing issues encountered by Varo Vision or Iomega, component availability and prices, product costs, intellectual property rights and other factors and other risks described in Iomega's Annual Report to Stockholders for 1997 on Form 10-K, filed March 31, 1998 and its most recent quarterly reports filed with the SEC.