Fujitsu Unveils New Mobile 18 XP Hard Drive Series for Reliable, High-Performance Storage in Notebook PCs and Emerging Markets.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 1999--

New Product Offering Meets Mobile Users Capacity, Reliability and

Ruggedness Demands

Fujitsu, one of the world's leading suppliers of mobile hard drives, today announced the introduction of a new line of 2.5-inch mobile hard drives. The new Mobile 18 XP series includes storage capacities of 6.0, 9.0, 12.0 and 18.0 GB for notebook PCs and alternative application devices, such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and laser printers.

"We are excited about our significant gains over the last year at major PC notebook OEM customers," commented Paul Hansen, vice president of storage products, Fujitsu Computer Products of America. "With several successful product qualifications underway, we believe this new product line will continue our momentum as one of the fastest growing mobile disk drive suppliers and offer top notebook PC manufacturers a competitive advantage in the marketplace."

With the introduction of these drives, Fujitsu is leading a new trend in automotive and other cutting edge storage applications. Fujitsu's newest line of mobile drives, available in 9.5mm and 12.5mm z-heights, provide the superior performance, durability, and cost efficiency required for today's innovative applications.

"Because Fujitsu recognizes the enormous growth potential in emerging markets, we are committed to providing durable, high value drives that meet the rigid performance requirements of these challenging environments," explained Keith Caldwell, director of mobile storage, Fujitsu Computer Products of America. "We believe this new product line will establish Fujitsu's position as a pioneer of new and exciting applications for mobile disk drives."

Superior design efficiency and performance

Because Fujitsu develops and manufactures its own third-generation GMR heads and supporting component technology, the new mobile hard drives feature a number of industry-leading features, such as the highest areal density of 9.3 gigabits per square inch, and a leading transfer rate of 22.4 megabytes per second. In addition, the Mobile 18 XP Series will be the first in its class to offer the UDMA 66 interface, enabling faster transaction speeds. Fujitsu's mobile drives provide industry leading quality by leveraging technology traditionally used only in high-end enterprise drives. Greater reliability and ruggedness is achieved through design modifications including Fujitsu's "stiction free slider," which enables the use of super smooth media, decreasing the potential for stiction and thermal asperities. A non-operating shock tolerance of 700 G ensures that the drives will withstand even the most rigorous conditions. Additionally, to help avoid data loss due to "disk shift," Fujitsu has implemented a feature called "repeatable run-out compensation", which performs diagnostics each time the drive starts up and can electronically compensate for errant mechanical movement.

Utilizing Fujitsu's specially-designed CPU-chip with a 16-bit system bus, the drives also offer increased drive processing performance. Further, Fujitsu's third-generation GMR product offers smaller, lighter, and more sensitive spin valve heads than previous generations, allowing them to achieve industry-leading areal densities and data transfer rates.

Specifications & Availability

The Mobile 18 XP Series enhances Fujitsu's current mobile product line and consists of four 2.5-inch mobile disk drives, all of which are available at 4200 RPM with the ATA-5 interface. Both lines will be available in the third calendar quarter of 1999.

-- Model number: MHJ2181AT - Outstanding performance for power-oriented mobile users

-- 18 GB of storage in a 12.5mm drive

-- 3 platters

-- Model number: MHK2XX0AT - Optimal performance at an excellent value

-- 6 GB, 9 GB or 12 GB of storage in a 9.5mm drive

-- 1 or 2 platters

About Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) is a leading provider of comprehensive information technology and network solutions for the global marketplace. Comprising over 500 group companies and affiliates worldwide -including ICL, Amdahl and DMR Consulting Group -the Fujitsu Group had consolidated revenues of 5.24 trillion yen ($43.3 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1999. With world-class hardware and software technology in computers, telecommunications and microelectronics, and a corps of 55,000 systems and services experts around the world, Fujitsu is uniquely positioned to harness the power of the network to help its customers succeed. Altogether, the Fujitsu Group has 188,000 employees and operations in over 100 countries. Home page: http://www.fujitsu.co.jp/index-e.html

About Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc.

Fujitsu Computer Products of America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited. Benefiting from Fujitsu Ltd.'s investments in research and development, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. provides innovative solutions for the U.S. marketplace. Current product offerings include: high performance hard disk drives, tape drives, magneto-optical drives, high performance scanners and printers. The company of approximately 700 encompasses research and development operations in Longmont, Colo.; computer peripheral repair in Hillsboro, Ore.; engineering and marketing in San Jose, Calif.; and sales operations throughout the United States. Fujitsu Computer Products of America is based in San Jose, CA and is located at 2904 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, CA 95134.

For more information about Fujitsu products and services, use our Internet Web site at http://www.fcpa.com. The company can be reached by phone at 800/626-4686 or 408/432-6333.

Note to Editors: Fujitsu Computer Products of America reserves the right to change equipment and performance specifications stated herein without notice. Fujitsu and the Fujitsu logo are registered trademarks of Fujitsu Limited. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.