AIWA Introduces Next Generation Cartridge Drive -- 10GB At $149.

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 1998--AIWA Friday announced that it has combined existing digital tape technologies to create a new generation cartridge drive which offers capacities up to 10GB at half the price of equivalent drives currently on the market.

Called "Bolt," the new drive is based on well-understood Travan tape technologies but uses a unique recording format. User benefits will include:

-- Storing 100-times as much as a 100MB disk on one cartridge,

-- Using readily available media,

-- Using existing backup software.

"At Bolt's $149 retail price, there won't be much room in the market for backup devices with less than 10GB of capacity," said Chris Straghalis, AIWA Computer System Division's tape product manager. "There simply won't be any reason to buy a smaller drive."

Bolt uses an ATAPI (EIDE) bus interface, rather than a floppy interface, and unlike some competitive systems does not require an additional card slot. All of its electronics are included in the 1-inch high package.

Data transfers occur at 5.33Mbps. And since up to 10GB can be written on a single cartridge, there is no need for its user to spend time loading and labeling multiple disks or tapes.

"When so many desktop computers and small workgroup servers have multi-gigabyte hard drives, the industry needs a device capable of backing up that much on a single cartridge," said Straghalis. "In addition, the device had to be inexpensive enough to be practical as a PC peripheral. We believe Bolt is a great answer."

Bolt is compatible with Travan TR-3 cartridges in both 750-ft and 1200-ft lengths. (6.6GB can be stored on a 750-ft cartridge. Maximum capacity is attained with a 1200-ft tape. At full capacity, storage cost is approximately 3MB per cent. All numbers assume 2:1 data compression.)

Bolt will be distributed through retail stores and should begin appearing on shelves in July. An external drive model is planned for the third quarter of this year.

About AIWA

AIWA's Computer Systems Division (CSD) is a part of AIWA Co. Ltd., a $3.1 billion Tokyo-based electronics firm and one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers. The company is especially well-known in the United States for its audio systems. AIWA developed the first Japanese cassette recorder and the first stereo cassette recorder. The company was also the first company in the world to manufacture Digital Audio Tape (DAT) products.

CSD sells AIWA's tape storage and multimedia speaker products to OEMs and systems integrators and through distributors and retail chains.

AIWA has established a CSD Operations Center in southern California to support the special needs of the OEM and channel customers. Research and development is conducted by AIWA Digital Technology Inc. (ADT), based in Santa Ana, Calif. ADT is staffed by a group of the original engineers who helped develop the Archive Viper 150 and WangDAT DDS drives, both milestones in tape technology.

More information on the company and its products is available through the Computer Systems Division's headquarters at 16969 Von Karman Ave., Suite 260, Irvine, Calif. 92612. CSD can be reached by phone at 714/862-0200 or 800/920-2763, by fax at 714/862-0213, or at its Web site www.aiwa.com/csd.

CONTACT: AIWA Computer Systems Div., Irvine

Barbara Le, 714/862-0200

[e-mail]

or

Mesa Communications

Sara Beeler, 310/769-6829

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