Iomega Announces New Removable REV 120GB Backup Drive

Third-Generation REV Technology Provides Superior Backup and Archive Performance for Tape-Weary Users and Others In a Data Intensive World

Iomega REV 120GB driveSAN DIEGO, March 2008 - Iomega Corporation (NYSE: IOM), a global leader in data storage and protection, today announced the new Iomega® REV® 120GB Backup Drive, the third generation of its award-winning REV technology and a benchmark in smart, sensible backup for small and medium-sized businesses, remote work groups and others.

Iomega will unveil the new Iomega REV 120GB Backup Drive and REV 120GB disks at CeBIT 2008, the international technology tradeshow beginning today in Hanover, Germany, and running through March 9. Iomega is located at CeBIT in Hall 2, booth D56.

The Iomega REV 120GB Backup Drive is expected to be available worldwide in April as external USB 2.0 and internal SATA interface models; a REV 120GB ATAPI interface model is planned for mid-year.

“With a REV install base of 350,000 drives and 2,000,000 disks, tape backup for small business has worn out its welcome,” said Tom Kampfer, president and COO, Iomega Corporation. “Iomega’s removable REV platform is a proven technology that delivers performance and ruggedness that no tape product can match. Compared to entry-level tape products like LTO-1 and DAT160 format tape drives, the new REV 120GB Backup Drive offers more native capacity, near instantaneous random access to files, faster backups and restores, and ruggedized cartridges - all at a much better drive price. In addition, REV drives offer today’s multimedia enthusiast a limitless storage solution for libraries of content with each 120GB REV disk holding approximately 48,000 photos, 2000 hours of music or 12 hours of high-definition video.”

REV Technology
Iomega introduced its REV technology with the first generation REV 35GB Backup Drive in 2004, followed by the second generation REV 70GB Backup Drive in 2006. Iomega’s REV products have earned widespread awards from the technology media, strong support from storage software vendors and, most importantly, a worldwide reputation for simple, reliable operation.

Designed to provide the performance of a hard drive with the removability of tape, Iomega’s patented REV technology reinvents the hard drive by dividing its components into a drive bay and a low-cost removable disk. The sensitive drive heads and electronics reside in the REV drive; a hard disk platter and fluid-dynamic bearing motor are located in the REV disk. The REV disk is designed for zero maintenance, sealed against outside air contamination while in operation and when not in the drive. The virtual clean room environment of the REV system is supported by automatic head-cleaning, air filtration, and two-stage error correction for automatic data verification.

The unique design and economics of the REV platform have caused Iomega’s REV technology to be embraced by many different vertical markets as an ideal tape-replacement solution because of its durability, rewriteability, reliability, and excellent price-performance. In any field with regulatory requirements to archive records, large working files to transfer, or business continuity needs, Iomega’s REV 120GB technology is an ideal fit.

Iomega’s new REV 120GB Backup Drive features transfer rates of up to 35MB/second (max), extensive third-party software support, and an estimated 30-year archival life, while REV 120GB disks have an estimated one million rewrite durability - the kind of performance tape backup products can never match. And while tape products require frequent head cleaning, tape retensioning, and an expensive tape replacement regime, REV drives and disks are designed for continuous reliable use with zero maintenance.

REV Technology Versus Competing Backup and Archive Formats
Reliable data backups are a necessity in most businesses today. Yet the most common storage alternatives have limitations as backup devices. Compared to LTO-1 or DAT160, Iomega’s REV 120GB drive is up to 5 times faster and offers at least 20 percent more native capacity, and the drive costs upwards of 50 percent less. These advantages translate into the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) for cost-conscious SMBs. Savings include reduced labor, hardware costs, and system downtime. Higher capacity REV 120GB disks also reduce time spent changing media and provide greater consolidation of data.

Removable HDDs, such as Go Vault and RDX, which claim a low cost of ownership, actually require users to purchase a complete hard drive every time data storage needs increase. With Iomega’s REV technology, additional REV disks are more economical because each disk contains only the hard disk platter and the motor.

Where is REV Technology Used Today?
Iomega’s REV products are in use today by small businesses in a variety of different industries. Graphic design firms are using REV disks as project disks to save and share their large files. Academic institutions are using REV disks to store and protect students’ multi-media files. Network professionals are using REV technology as a cost-effective, random access tape-replacement solution. Through Iomega’s Thomson Grass Valley alliance, REV drives are being used for professional video applications. As HD content among consumers becomes widespread, Iomega expects its REV technology to find applications with prosumers in the home as well. Home-based businesses utilize REV for their small business files and to back up their multimedia files. Dental and medical offices are turning to REV to store and archive patient records, including digital x-rays.

STI Computer Services, a Pennsylvania-based VAR that specializes in the development, sale, installation and support of medical computer systems, has installed more than a thousand REV drives for clients, which range from single practician offices to physician offices with upwards of 100 employees. Dan Woods, network administrator for STI Computer Services, said the company has been moving its clients to the REV platform exclusively since the REV 35GB Backup Drive debuted four years ago.

“We have clients up and down the Eastern Seaboard using a mix of REV 35GB and REV 70GB drives,” said Woods. “Some of the larger practices were using entry-level tape before, while some of the smaller offices didn’t have a data backup and disaster program at all. But all of them have benefited from using REV drives to protect their patient files and other important records. And Iomega has scaled its REV technology to meet our needs. We’re already testing the REV 120GB Drive in preparation for using it with clients that need more storage per disk.”

Over the last four years, Iomega’s REV technology has been utilized in a variety of vertical markets in the U.S. and Europe. With the debut of the REV 120GB Backup Drive, VARs, resellers and other channel distributors are not only focused on existing customers and markets but are also integrating REV technology into new applications and new markets around the world.

AMAX Engineering Corporation, a Fremont, California-based value add contract manufacturer with customers worldwide, has been selling REV products to corporations, government and educational entities and OEM customers since the launch of the REV 35GB Backup Drive. James Huang, Product Marketing Manager at AMAX, notes OEM customers utilizing REV drives in such diverse installations as network and storage appliances, servers, semi-conductor, medical, printing, banking, and entertainment products.

“Iomega’s REV products have been very good for our business and our customers’ businesses,” said Huang. “We’ve sold thousands of REV drives to resellers, VARs, and corporate entities that moved away from tape-based drives or optical solutions, as well as manufacturers of products that require cost-effective but durable and reliable backup storage. The REV 120GB Drive will be an upgrade for many of our current REV customers. We’re also bringing complete integrated storage solutions to customers in China and the Asia market as a whole, and REV technology will play a big role in that part of our business development and market expansion.”
The statements contained in this release regarding development, production and distribution of the new Iomega REV 120GB Backup Drive and disks, the future release of REV products, anticipated product pricing and availability, expected product performance and specifications, future applications for the new product and all other statements that are not purely historical, are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All such forward looking statements are based upon information available to Iomega as of the date hereof, and Iomega disclaims any intention or obligation to update any such forward looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the successful completion of product development and testing, market acceptance of, and demand for, the Iomega product, any difficulties encountered in ramping up production or other manufacturing issues, including component availability and pricing, co-development, production, and distribution issues, product pricing and conformity to specifications, dependence upon third party suppliers, competition, intellectual property rights and other risks and uncertainties identified in the reports filed from time to time by Iomega with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including Iomega’s Annual Report on Form 10 K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.


* 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes.

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