Addonics Announces Serial ATA Storage Product Family.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 2003

Addonics Technologies became the first storage developer to announce a complete family of high-speed Serial ATA storage solutions, which includes a line of ATA host controllers, IDE/ATAPI conversion boards, external hard drive kits and RAID solutions to support Serial ATA's 150-MB/sec transfer rate.

The initial roll out features seven different Serial ATA solutions, and includes the first external Serial ATA storage solutions. The new Addonics Serial ATA product line includes:

-- IDE to Serial ATA Converter (ADIDESA) - $35 MSRP 

-- Serial ATA PCI Host Controller (2 ports) (ADSA2) - $39 MSRP

-- External Serial ATA Upgrade Kit (AKBSA) - $59 MSRP

-- Combo External Serial ATA Upgrade Kit (AKCOMSA) - $89 MSRP

-- Serial ATA Combo Hard Drive (AEMED35SA) - $115 MSRP

-- Serial ATA Removable Combo Hard Drive (AERHD35SA) - $105 MSRP

-- Combo RAID System (AERAID35SA) - $169 MSRP

With limited models of Serial ATA hard drives available and no Serial ATA ATAPI device in the market, Addonics offers converters and cable solutions to enable standard IDE hard drives and ATAPI devices to be used as internal Serial ATA or External Serial ATA storage device. Addonics External Serial ATA storage solutions provide users with external storage devices without compromising performance in the data bus. Addonics has even added BUS power to its cable design so that low power storage devices can be powered directly from the External Serial ATA port. Customers who already have Addonics external data storage equipment can transition to Serial ATA with a minimal investment.

Serial ATA also improves the system airflow by utilizing a new thin cabling system to simplify the connection between the host controller and the data storage devices. Serial ATA devices can also be hot swapped without shutting down or restarting the system, and no software changes are required. The new interface also makes it more cost-effective to integrate RAID and multidrive systems into present storage applications.

Addonics Offers the First External/Removable Serial ATA Solutions

Addonics has several external solutions for easily upgrading to Serial ATA. The External Serial ATA Upgrade Kit adds an external Serial ATA port via a system's PCI slot or the standard DB9 connector hole available on back of many computer chassis. The Addonics Combo External Serial ATA Upgrade Kit has the same features, but includes the Serial ATA PCI Host Controller for users who do not have a Serial ATA port in their system.

With either kit, customers can use any Addonics storage devices in the company's Pocket and Mobile series, which includes the Addonics Pocket DVD, CDRW, DVD/CDRW, DVD-R/RW, CD-ROM, Mobile DVD/CDRW, Mobile CDRW, Pocket ExDrive, Combo Hard Drive, CD DigiCopier or DVD DigiCopier. In addition, the booting support in Serial ATA also enables systems to boot from the Addonics external storage devices.

For a hard drive solution, the Addonics Serial ATA Combo Hard Drive, and the Serial ATA Removable Combo Hard Drive Kit are the most flexible hard drive kits on the market. With these kits, any standard 3.5" IDE hard drive can become an external Serial ATA hard drive, a removable hard drive, or become part of a high performance RAID system. There are no special tools required to install a hard drive into either kit.

As an external hard drive, the Combo Hard Drive can be connected to any computer or equipment via the Serial ATA interface. By installing the drive cradle that comes with either kit into a 5 1/4" drive bay, you can use the Combo Hard Drive as a removable IDE hard drive. You can also attach the optional Addonics IDE-Serial ATA converter to the Drive Cradle and turn it into a high performance hot swappable Serial ATA hard drive. The Serial ATA Combo Hard Drive includes the Combo Hard Drive enclosure, Combo Hard Drive Desktop Drive Cradle, the External Serial ATA upgrade kit and 110/220 AC/DC adapter.

The Serial ATA Removable Combo Hard Drive is bundled with Addonics' IDE-Serial ATA converter, Serial ATA PCI host controller, drive enclosure, and Desktop Drive Cradle.

Addonics Can Upgrade or Convert any IDE/ATAPI Device to Serial ATA

The Addonics IDE-Serial ATA converter is the most cost effective solution for converting standard IDE and ATAPI devices to the new Serial ATA interface standard. It has been designed to mount to the back of any IDE hard drive or ATAPI device such as DVD-R/RW, CDRW, DVD-ROM. The IDE-Serial ATA converter can also mount onto the Addonics Combo Hard Drive desktop drive cradle, the Pocket ExDrive Drive cradle and the company's growing list of Addonics internal devices.

The Addonics IDE-Serial ATA converter, when used with the Addonics Combo HD Drive cradle or Pocket ExDrive Drive cradle, can also add hot swap function to any IDE hard drive. Coupled with the built-in RAID 0/1 support on the new Addonics Serial ATA PCI host controller, users can add high performance RAID to any desktop PC or server with no additional hardware or software. The Addonics' solution reduces the cost and complexity of a traditional RAID system, which makes it a mainstream application rather than a power user or server application.

For users who want a simple Serial ATA upgrade, the Addonics Serial ATA PCI Host Controller instantly adds two Serial ATA ports to any desktop computer via a PCI slot. No software drivers or complicated switches or jumper settings are required. The Addonics Serial ATA PCI host controller is compatible with all ATA33/66/100/133 hard drives and ATATPI devices. It includes on board RAID 0 (Mirroring and Duplexing) and RAID 1 (disk stripping) support.

Addonics Brings RAID to the Mainstream With New Kit

The Addonics Combo RAID System combines the flexibility of the Addonics Combo Hard Drive and the built in RAID function of the Serial ATA interface. It is the most innovative RAID solution for building a high availability or a high performance storage system using the latest Serial ATA technology. The kits includes: two IDE-Serial ATA converters; one Serial ATA PCI host controller with on-board RAID Level 0/1 support; two Combo Hard Drive enclosures; and two Combo Hard Drive Desktop Drive Cradles.

System requirements for all new products in the Addonics Serial ATA product line include a Pentium 486 or greater; minimum 32MB RAM; 10MB minimum free hard disk space; and one of the following operating systems -- DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1 / 95 / 98SE / NT/ 2000 PRO/ Me / XP. All Addonics Serial ATA solutions are scheduled to begin shipping 4/7/03.

Addonics products are available through major catalog companies, resellers, VARs and distributors, including StorageUSA.com, Amazon.com, PC Connection, CDW, Buy.com, Provantage.com, Insight, Ingram Micro, and Ma Lab.

Addonics Technologies Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a broad line of external storage products. Addonics is headquartered at 2466 Kruse Drive, San Jose, CA 95131, Phone: [phone]. Visit Addonics at www.addonics.com.

All products/company names are either trademarks or trade names of their respective holders.