Features - Storage Innovations:

MAXELL FIRST TO SHIP DAT 72: FIFTH GENERATION DDS MEDIA

Maxell Corporation of America, a leader in premium recordable media products, has announced the general availability of DAT 72, the next generation DDS media.

Maxell's DAT 72 media delivers 36GB of native storage capacity (72GB assuming 2:1 data compression) with a native transfer rate of 3MB/secThe increased capacity of Maxell DAT 72 has been achieved through reduction in track widths and increased tape lengthThe thickness of the tape has been reduced to allow for increased lengths to fit into the same DDS form factor.

According to Bob Abraham, Freeman Reports, DDS tape technology represented approximately 58 percent of the worldwide low end tape drive unit shipments in 2002, and with more than 6.9 million DDS drives installed worldwide, DDS is an established leader in providing price/performance value to the entry-level storage marketplaceWith the improvement in capacity and performance, while maintaining the form factor and affordability of its DDS predecessors, DAT 72 broadens and strengthens this extremely popular and cost-effect tape format.

"DDS has allowed users to upgrade and take advantage of new technologies, while at the same time maintaining access to previously recorded media," said Dawn Wortman, senior marketing manager at Maxell. "The development of DAT 72 and being early to market is indicative of Maxell's leadership in storage media as we continue in our commitment to provide the highest quality in next generation data storage solutions."

Maxell DAT 72 data cartridges leverage proven technologies from DDS-3 and DDS-4, while undergoing extensive durability tests under various environmental conditions. Maxell's DAT 72 data cartridges are precision-manufactured to tight specifications and are subject to Maxell's 100 percent quality-assurance proceduresMaxell's DAT 72 pricing structure assures greater cost effectiveness and reduced cost per GB over previous DDS offerings.