NEWS BRIEFS

Costa Mesa, CALIF. — Seagate Technology, a leading manufacturer of computer tape drive products, began shipping the TapeStor Travan Portable USB tape drive family as the backup and storage solution of choice for consumers and businesses that require external USB drive connectivity. Focused on compatibility and performance, the external TapeStor Travan USB bundled product is available in both 8-Gbyte and 20-Gbyte compressed capacities.

“Seagate is committed to deliver best-in-class tape backup solutions for users to protect the valuable information they rely on every day,” said Bob Sparanese, director of marketing, Seagate Removable Storage Solutions. “With an increased focus on data protection, users are looking for cost-effective and effortless ways to protect in minutes what could take months to replace. Now TapeStor Travan Portable USB products offer sustained data-transfer rates (compressed) up to 90 percent faster than comparable Travan tape drives with a Parallel Port interface.”

“These high capacity USB tape drives offer a highly reliable backup solution for a desktop and notebook PC, workstation or Apple iMac, G3 or G4 system with USB connectivity. The drive connects easily by plugging into a USB system or hub connection, making it ideal for users who wish to install a tape drive without having to open their computers. Instead of an available internal bay for a tape drive, these systems typically have add-on options of USB-based drives for use as external backup devices. The TapeStor Travan Portable USB products also target the growing legacy-free systems segment of the market,” said Sparanese.

“With hard drive capacities increasing and software storage requirements expanding, iMac, iBook, G3, G4, PowerBook and PC users need a removable storage solution with the capability to back-up digital video, graphic and other storage-intensive applications on a single cartridge,” said Frank Russomanno, general manager of data storage media for Imation Data Storage and Information Management. “Drives like Seagate’s TapeStor Travan Portable USB allow users to take advantage of the reliable, efficient and proven data backup capabilities of Travan technology via an easy-to-use USB interface.”

The TapeStor Travan Portable USB is a value bundle solution based upon the award-winning Seagate TapeStor Travan internal tape drive and is available with the following features:

— A high-performance Seagate Travan tape drive with up to 8- or 20-Gbytes of compressed capacity per cartridge. The Travan 8 Gbyte drive has a compressed backup speed of up to 70 Mbytes per minute or 4.2 Gbytes per hour. The 20 Gbyte drive has a compressed backup speed of up to 85 Mbytes per minute or 5.1 Gbytes per hour. Seagate provides a two-year warranty on Seagate Travan tape drives.

— USB cable connectivity and a Class 1 universal power supply (90 – 240V).

— Dantz Development Retrospect Backup Express and Veritas Backup Exec Desktop so that users have a software package choice that best fits their needs within their chosen operating environment. Software is available in multiple languages: English, German, French and Japanese.

— Optimized data transfer with Seagate’s FastSense which throttles the drive’s speed up or down to match a system’s throughput, reducing the need to stop, start and rewind the tape — thus maximizing backup speed and increasing reliability of the tape drive and the media.

— Compatibility with MS Windows 98/2000 Professional and Mac OS 8.6 and above.

— A Travan 8 and 20 data cartridge certified by Seagate for optimal performance and reliability in Seagate tape drives. Seagate Travan cartridges come with a five-year warranty and multi-language instructions for ease-of-use.

— An install poster, a tape drive stand and all needed cabling for easy installation and immediate use.

“Seagate’s USB tape drive is expected to be well received by the market,” commented Jon Maroney, director of product marketing at Dantz. “USB connectivity is popular with PC and Mac users alike, and Seagate’s new solution is priced to sell. By including Retrospect Backup for Windows and Mac OS, Seagate has demonstrated that an affordable tape backup solution can still be flexible, easy-to-use, and above all, reliable.”

Seagate TapeStor Travan Portable USB products are now available through authorized Seagate distributors and resellers worldwide. In the United States, the products are available for purchase on the Internet at Seagate’s online store for tape products at http://buytape.seagate.com/usb . For more information on Seagate tape drives, data cartridges and accessories, check Seagate’s web site at http://www.seagate.com .

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