Laser servo drive is first to provide 120MB formatted capacity plus compatibility with standard floppy disks; customer shipments begin in June.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 1996--The first breakthrough product in floppy disk technology to occur in years will begin shipping to distributors this month.

O.R. Technology has announced the availability of its FD-3120A drive, an LS-120 drive that uses laser servo technology to reach a 120MB storage capacity.

The FD-3120A is read/write compatible with standard floppy disks and will provide a migration path for 200 million personal computer users.

"The FD-3120A lets users make a tremendous jump in capacity and speed without sacrificing access to their software and files stored on existing floppy disks," said John Haughey, chief executive officer O.R. Technology.

"We believe it will become the next standard and eventually replace current floppy disk technology."

The FD-3120A provides 80 times the capacity and five times the speed of a standard 1.44MB floppy disk drive. Its slim, one-inch high form factor can be configured for use in standard PC drive bays, making it the ideal form, fit and function replacement for current floppy disk drives.

It incorporates an industry standard ATAPI IDE interface for easy connection in any personal computer. The LS-120 diskettes are the same size and shape as current 3.5-inch floppy disks and are manufactured by 3M Data Storage Products Division.

The FD-3120A evolved from conventional floppy technology; however, servo patterns are factory etched into each LS-120 diskette.

The optical sensor in the drive allows the read/write head to be precisely positioned over the magnetic data tracks, enabling track densities of 2,490 data tracks per inch (tpi) vs. the 135 tpi for a 1.44MB diskette, thus allowing the 120MB capacity. A ``dual-gap'' head allows the laser servo drive to read and write both conventional floppy disks and LS-120 disks.

Laser servo technology was developed jointly by O.R. Technology, Compaq Computer Corp., 3M Data Storage Products Division and Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd. (MKE).

The FD-3120A will be available from authorized distributors in June. It's offered at a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $210. LS-120 media from 3M is available now at an MSRP of $19.95.

O.R. Technology, with headquarters in San Jose, designs manufactures and markets data storage products using laser servo technology for which it holds all patents. Laser servo technology is the strategic key to the development of the floppy disk drive as it moves into the 21st century.

For additional information on O.R. Technology and its products, contact O.R. Technology, 2050 Bering Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95131-2009; phone [phone]; fax [phone].

CONTACT: O.R. Technology, San Jose

Mike Dalton, 408/441-0660

or

Roberts, Mealer & Co.

Leilani Smith, 714/957-1314

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