Maxtor's New 1394 External Storage Solution Holds up to 20,000 Songs

Maxtor® Corp. just announced its new External Storage solution for 1394-equipped PCs and Macs. The new product is an external hard drive that uses the high-speed IEEE 1394 interface. With 1394 connectivity, also known as FireWire® and i.LINK®, the product allows consumers to quickly and easily install up to 80 GB of additional storage to their desktop or laptop computer for video editing, digital music, digital photos and games. In addition, the Maxtor External Storage solution is hot swappable and features data transfer rates up to 400 Mbps, 30 times faster than USB.

"Maxtor continues to build momentum in the consumer electronics market for storage," said Mike Cannon, president and CEO of Maxtor. "Our new 1394 External Storage solution is a compelling, easy-to-use storage device for consumer electronics applications and for people who wish to add external storage to their computer."

"We have seen rapid adoption of the 1394 interface in the PC and consumer electronics markets," said 1394 Trade Association Chairman James Snider. "The list of manufacturers shipping products with 1394 includes Apple, Canon, Compaq, Dell, Fuji, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Kodak, Panasonic, Pentax, Sony and Texas Instruments, among many others. New 1394-equipped storage products are coming to market now, and the new Maxtor solution will be one of the best of this fast-growing group."

In addition to leveraging the benefits of 1394, the Maxtor External Storage solution is built around Maxtor's award-winning DiamondMax® hard drive, which holds the world's record for capacity. The new product features the highest capacity available in a single-drive external storage device and is a dependable storage and backup solution. The 80 GB version can hold up to 80 hours of compressed digital video, 8,000 3.3 megapixel quality digital photos, or 20,000 four-minute songs, which adds up to 55 days of solid listening pleasure without ever repeating a tune. With access to this huge capacity, parents do not need to worry about kids using up precious GBs for games when the space is required for other applications. A total of 63 stackable units can be connected to a computer for virtually unlimited capacity.

"Maxtor continues their innovation by providing high-capacity storage solutions for our customers," said Philo Pappas, senior vice president of merchandizing at Staples. "I'm confident our customers will embrace the newest Maxtor storage solution because it allows experienced and even novice computer users to conveniently plug in additional capacity as their storage needs grow."

The ultra-sleek Maxtor External Storage solution measures 15/8x 6 x 85/8 - inches (41.2 x 152.4 x 219 mm) and fits in even the most compact work area. It will be available on shelves early in October at major retailers such as CompUSA, Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's Electronics, Office Depot and Staples. The 40 GB device is priced at $279.95 (MSRP); the 80 GB capacity version is priced at $399.95.

1394 Adapter Cards
For PC desktop systems not equipped with the 1394 interface, Maxtor offers a 1394 PCI Adapter Card for $49.95 (MSRP). This easy-to-install card adds two 1394 ports to PCs and allows users to leverage all the benefits of this new interface, such as the ability to hot swap devices without shutting down. For a limited time, Maxtor will be offering a $50 rebate on the PCI Card when purchased with the Maxtor External storage solution.

Maxtor will also offer a Type III PCMCIA card that quickly adds a 1394 port on laptop computers. The PCMCIA card will be shipping in early November for $99.95 (MSRP).

About Maxtor
Maxtor Corporation is a leading supplier of information storage solutions. The company's current hard disk drive products include the award-winning DiamondMax and DiamondMax Plus line of products for mainstream and high-performance personal computers (PCs) and consumer electronics applications, as well as the DiamondMax VL line for entry-level PCs. Maxtor also offers the new MaxAttach family of network attached storage servers.

Maxtor's market leadership position has been built by consistently providing leadership products, and by delivering high levels of quality and support for its customers. More information about Maxtor and its products can be found at www.maxtor.com or by calling toll free (800)2-MAXTOR.

Source: Maxtor