Iomega and EMC Bring External SSD Flash Drives to the Consumer and SMB Markets

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Iomega Corporation, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a leading innovator in digital storage and protection solutions for consumers and small and medium businesses, today announced new host-powered Iomega® External USB 3.0 SSD Flash Drives, rugged solid state drives utilizing the blazing fast speed of the USB 3.0 interface and the security of built-in encryption – the perfect portable storage device for high-end users, creative professionals and others who demand the best in performance, security and portability.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101015/NE82570 )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101015/NE82570 )

Leveraging EMC's world class solid state expertise and implementation in enterprise network storage solutions, Iomega's new pocket-sized 1.8-inch external USB 3.0 SSD Flash drives will be available in early November in 64GB*, 128GB and 256GB capacities.  

Encased in a sleek metal enclosure that not only looks great but delivers added protection from drops up to 10 feet, Iomega's new SSD Drives feature 256-bit hardware encryption for security, bundled anti-virus and backup software, a three-year warranty and the superior performance of solid state drives that users expect in state-of-the-art storage from Iomega.

"When time is money and you need the latest technology in portable storage, Iomega's new high performance external solid state drives are the ideal solution," said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega Corporation.  "Iomega's new external USB 3.0 SSD drives are compact, rugged portable storage devices that deliver data transfer speeds considerably faster than any standard rotating disk drives, as well as the confidence that comes with a solid industrial design, hardware encryption and the complete Iomega Protection Suite to protect users' important files, all of which makes Iomega's new SSD Drives the storage of choice for high-end users who demand the ultimate in performance and portability."  

Anatomy of the New Iomega USB 3.0 External SSD Flash Drive

The Iomega USB 3.0 External SSD Flash Drive is a solid state drive that has no moving parts, resulting in a more durable drive with fast application loading and top transfer speeds for high definition video, digital images, graphics and music.  Professional videographers, photographers and other creative professionals will find the Iomega USB 3.0 SSD Drive a perfect match for their deadlines and digital storage needs.  

Utilizing the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface, the Iomega External SSD Flash Drive boasts up to 10 times the speed of USB 2.0 drives.  Iomega's new external SSD Drive also performs twice as fast as a 7200 RPM SATA hard drives utilizing the same USB 3.0 interface.  

Cool-to-the-touch, the new Iomega SSD drives require no external power supply and are completely backward compatible with personal computers and other devices that only have USB 2.0 ports.  Iomega also offers USB 3.0 adapter cards (sold separately) to insert into USB 2.0 laptop and desktop computers so users of the new Iomega SSD Drive can experience native USB 3.0 transfer speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second.

A Creative Professional's Take on the Iomega USB 3.0 External SSD Flash Drive

Kevin T Gilbert, an award-winning photojournalist, teacher and entrepreneur based in Annapolis, Maryland, is CEO and founder of Blue Pixel, a leading digital creative group that consults for major companies in retail, computers, software and camera manufacturing.  A pioneer digital photographer who has photographed four sitting U.S. Presidents, as well as two fictional U.S. Presidents during a stint shooting on The West Wing television series, Gilbert can't say enough about Iomega's new external SSD Drive and the virtues of utilizing solid state flash as a professional photojournalist.

"I travel to 20 countries a year and the new Iomega SSD drive keeps me solidly backed up and within the airline weight limits!  I love that," said Gilbert, elected six times as president of the White House News Photographers Association.  "Size, speed and portability matter to me as I travel the world.  At a time when the international airlines continue to limit size and weight on gear, the Iomega external SSD drive is a lifesaver!  This drive gets a big thumbs up from me and should from anyone who spends a lot of time shooting on the go."

Value Add Software Package That Saves Money and Protects Your Files

Included free of charge with Iomega's new External SSD Flash Drives is the Iomega Protection Suite, a one-stop portfolio of backup and anti-virus software giving users added protection for their photos, videos, music and other files.  

The Iomega Protection Suite includes:

• v.Clone™ software, an Iomega exclusive, captures a complete virtual image of your PC — including the operating system, all applications, your settings, and all your files to your Iomega hard drive. Access the cloned copy and use it seamlessly on another computer, just as if you're working from your own PC. When you reconnect, automatically sync your data to your primary PC, so that files are always up to date**.
• A complementary 1-year subscription to Trend Micro™ Internet Security for the PC, or Trend Micro™ Smart Surfing software for Mac.
• Iomega QuikProtect: backup software for simple scheduled file-level backup of data to hard drives and network-attached storage devices (for Windows and Mac desktops and notebooks).
• Roxio® Retrospect® Express software: backup all of your data plus applications and settings (for Windows and Mac desktops and notebooks).
• MozyHome™ Online Backup service: Convenient online backup service with 2GB of online capacity for free (unlimited online storage for $4.95/month).  MozyHome Online service allows Windows and Mac users to restore their most important data from any computer with internet access, at any location in the world.

All of the software elements in the Iomega Protection Suite are accessible via easy download to owners of the Iomega External SSD Flash Drive.

Pricing, Availability and Warranty

The new Iomega® External SSD Flash Drive USB 3.0 will be available worldwide in early November in three capacities: 64GB for $229.00, 128GB for $399.00, and 256GB for $749.00.  (All pricing is U.S. suggested retail.)  Iomega's new External SSD Flash Drives will be available in the channel from distributors, systems integrators and others, as well as etailers and at www.iomega.com.

For more information on all of Iomega's products, including direct-attached portable and desktop HDDs, multimedia and network storage solutions, please go to www.iomega.com.  

All Iomega products include a 3-year limited warranty (with registration).

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC's products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

About Iomega

Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage solutions for small businesses, home offices, consumers and others. The Company has sold more than 425 million digital storage drives and disks since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega's product portfolio includes industry leading network attached storage products for the home and small business; one of the industry's broadest selections of direct-attached portable and desktop external hard drives; and the ScreenPlay™ family of multimedia drives that makes it easy to move video, pictures and other files from the computer room to the livingroom. To learn about all of Iomega's digital storage products and network storage solutions, please go to the Web at www.iomega.com. Resellers can visit Iomega at www.iomega.com/ipartner.  

NOTE: This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Federal Securities Laws.  Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (iv) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (v) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.'s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vi) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (viii) component and product quality and availability; (ix) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) war or acts of terrorism; (xii) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xiii) fluctuating currency exchange rates; and (xiv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

*        1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes.

**      v.Clone technology is currently not compatible with Mac computers or PCs that

         do not allow installation of an application (v.Clone player), such as those at

         Internet cafes and other public places.  v.Clone does not work with all PC

         operating systems.

Copyright© 2010 Iomega Corporation. All rights reserved. Iomega, v.Clone, ScreenPlay and QuikProtect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Iomega Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.  EMC and MozyHome are trademarks or registered trademarks of EMC Corporation.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

SOURCE EMC Corporation