IBM ANNOUNCES PACE-SETTING DISK DRIVES FOR OEM PCS, WORKSTATIONS, SERVERS

SAN JOSE, Calif., October 11 . . . IBM Corporation today introduced new
families of 2.5- and 3.5-inch disk drives that deliver unparalleled data
storage capacity, reliability and performance across a broad spectrum of
systems. These important additions to IBM's disk drive portfolio for
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) include:

- the Travelstar LP family, which offers the highest-capacity,
highest-performance, most-robust 2.5-inch low-profile drive in production
anywhere. This is a slim-line, 1/2-inch (12.5 millimeters) high, 720
megabyte (MB) drive for notebook and sub-notebook computers, with an 11.1
megabyte per second (MB/sec) data transfer rate and the ability to
tolerate non-operational shock loads up to 500G (500 times the force of
gravity);

- the Deskstar XP family, a selection of 1-inch high, 3.5-inch drives --
including a 1.08 gigabyte (GB) model with just two platters -- that, for
the first time, gives users of high-end desktop systems and entry-level
servers and workstations the speed and transfer rates of high-end
workstation drives and network servers -- at affordable prices;

- the Ultrastar2, a high-speed drive with a 10.8GB capacity -- the highest
capacity yet announced for a 3.5-inch drive -- and the Ultrastar2 XP, an
8.7GB high-performance drive. The 10.8GB and 8.7GB drives come in a
package only 1.6 inches (41.3 mm) high and are targeted for the high-end
server marketplace.

"Manufacturers of notebook and desktop computers, workstations, network
servers and high-end systems are increasingly turning to storage as a
means of differentiating their product offerings," said Ed Zschau, general
manager, IBM Storage Systems Division. "With the products announced today,
OEM customers will be able to specify 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drives with
IBM's most advanced technology to achieve the capacity, reliability and
price/performance they need to stay competitive in the dynamic and rapidly
changing computer market."

As another sign of IBM's long-term commitment to compete aggressively in
the hard disk drive marketplace, IBM products will now utilize "family"
names to help OEM and distribution customers better recognize and
understand the various attributes associated with the disk drives.

The Travelstar family is IBM's series of 2.5-inch disk drives used mainly
for mobile computing; the Deskstar name refers to IBM's 3.5-inch offerings
aimed at desktop computer and entry-level server platforms, while the
Ultrastar family -- a group of drives with capacities of one gigabyte and
above -- is aimed at high-end desktop and workstation users. The Ultrastar
XP series includes IBM's highest performance drives for high-end computing
requirements.

The Travelstar and Ultrastar families include drives that are already being
marketed under other designations, as well as the new drives announced
today.

"The family names for our new disk drive products speak to the positions we
expect them to achieve as we continue our aggressive push into the OEM
marketplace," said Fred Wiele, vice president, worldwide sales and
marketing for storage products. "We've demonstrated leadership in bringing
to market a complete line up of disk drives with IBM's proven
magneto-resistive head technology, and we think that will cause customers
to recognize our drives as true 'stars' in the industry."

The new IBM disk drives announced today are aimed directly at the
marketplace for manufacturers of 486-, Pentium- and PowerPC-based mobile
and desktop computers. Makers of workstations and network servers, and
manufacturers of storage subsystems are also expected to find these drives
attractive for use in their products.

All drives announced today use the industry's most advanced data storage
technologies, including IBM's No-ID sector formatting and advanced
magneto-resistive (MR) head technology, which is key to achieving very
high densities of data storage. All are designed for pace-setting levels
of quality and reliability.

Travelstar LP

HIGHEST-CAPACITY, HIGHEST-PERFORMANCE, MOST-ROBUST 2.5-INCH DRIVES, MODELS
DBOA-2360, DBOA-2540 AND DBOA-2720

Members of IBM's new Travelstar LP family of 2.5-inch disk drives store up
to 720MB of data in a two-disk package only 12.5mm (1/2-inch) high -- a
capacity 300MB greater than any other 12.5mm-high, 2.5-inch drive in the
marketplace.

The Travelstar LP drives use IBM's space-saving No-ID sector formatting and
advanced magneto-resistive (MR) head technology to store data at an
industry-leading areal density of 644 million bits per square inch. This
provides the drives with storage capacities of 360MB per disk -- 70
percent more capacity than the 210MB per-disk capacity of a 2.5-inch drive
recently announced by a competitor. As a result of today's announcement,
users of notebook and sub-notebook computers now have the data storage
capacity and performance they need to run the newest, most powerful
desktop operating systems and storage-intensive application programs.

The new Travelstar LP drives, with capacities of 360MB, 540MB and 720MB,
operate at data transfer rates as high as 11.1 MB/sec, making them the
fastest 2.5-inch drives in the marketplace. They are equipped with an AT
interface.

An important attribute of these drives is their ability to tolerate
non-operational shock loads as high as 500G without degradation of product
specifications. This is 200G higher than the load tolerated by any other
announced 2.5-inch drive and is intended to ensure data integrity while
the system is in transit. In addition, the drives incorporate shock
sensors that cause data writing to be interrupted so that data on the disk
will not be damaged as a result of operational shocks as high as 100G.
Also adding to their outstanding suitability for use in mobile computing
is the fact that the drives weigh only 140 grams.

The drives offer exceptional power management features and are specified at
300,000 hours mean time between failures. For ease of integration, they
are built to the mounting standards of the Manufacturers Compatibility
Committee (MCC).

The Travelstar LP family of 2.5-inch drives is available now in volume to
OEM customers. Model DBOA-2360 is priced at $395, Model DBOA-2540, at
$595, and Model DBOA-2720, at $695.

Deskstar XP

AFFORDABLE 3.5-INCH LOW-PROFILE DRIVES BRING WORKSTATION PERFORMANCE TO
DESKTOP SYSTEMS: MODELS DPEA-30540, DPEA-31080, DPES-30540 AND DPES-31080

With their popular capacities and competitive prices, members of IBM's new
Deskstar XP family of low-profile 3.5-inch disk drives bring to high-end
desktop computer and entry-level workstation and server users the
performance normally specified for drives used in more powerful
workstations and network servers.

Deskstar XP drives provide a single-disk capacity of 540MB and a two-disk
capacity of 1.08GB. They operate at 5400 RPM and support bus data transfer
rates as high as 11.1MB/sec across an AT interface and up to 10MB/sec with
a SCSI-2 interface. More importantly, with their high linear recording
density, these drives deliver sustained data rates of 3.2 to 4.0MB/sec.

The Deskstar XP drives reach new levels of performance in providing
cost-effective, high-speed data storage across a wide range of systems,
and can easily meet the data storage demands of entry-level technical and
engineering workstations, desktop publishing, word-processing and graphics
applications, spreadsheets and single-user data bases.

Deskstar XP drives operate with industry-leading power dissipation as low
as 3.3 watts (for 1.08GB models in "idle" mode), and are specified at
500,000 hours mean time between failures.

The drives are immediately available in volume to OEM customers. Models
DPEA-30540 and DPES-30540, with AT and SCSI interfaces, respectively, are
priced at $495, and Models DPEA-31080 and DPES-31080, with AT and SCSI
interfaces, respectively, are priced at $695.

Ultrastar2 and Ultrastar2 XP

HIGHEST-CAPACITY, HIGHEST-PERFORMANCE 3.5-INCH DRIVES, MODELS DCMS-310800,
DCHS-38700 and DCHC-38700

IBM's new Ultrastar2 and Ultrastar2 XP high-end 3.5-inch drives are
intended to be direct replacements for larger, high-capacity 5.25-inch
drives across a wide range of applications. They are designed to meet the
data storage needs of network users, large-scale imaging and graphics
applications, and designers of multi-disk RAID storage subsystems.
Ultrastar2 will offer 10.8GB and Ultrastar2 XP, 8.7GB in a 3.5-inch
package only 1.6 inches (41.3mm) high. The high capacities and low-profile
packaging of these drives are made possible by IBM's No-ID sector
formatting and advanced, third-generation magneto-resistive head
technology.

The 10.8GB drive is designed to operate at 5400 RPM and to support a media
data transfer rate of up to 14.2MB/sec. It will be equipped with a Fast
and Wide SCSI interface.

The 8.7GB drive will operate at 7200 RPM and support a maximum media data
transfer rate of 14.2MB/sec. The drive combines high capacity with the
very high performance needed for high-end storage subsystems and
specialized applications such as full-motion video. It will be offered
with a number of interfaces, including SCSI Fast, SCSI Fast and Wide, SCA
80-pin connectors and Serial Storage Architecture (SSA).

To provide high effective data transfer rates in all applications, both
drives will use sector servos rather than dedicated servo surfaces. This
eliminates the need for the thermal calibration routines that can
interrupt the flow of data, thereby making these drives ideal for
applications requiring continuous data streams.

Evaluation units of the 10.8GB and 8.7GB drives are planned for
availability to OEM customers during the 3rd quarter of 1995. Pricing will
be announced prior to availability.

IBM is a world-wide developer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range
of storage products for OEM computer makers, for use in IBM computing
systems, and for sale in commercial distribution channels. IBM storage
products are available from a wide range of commercial resellers and from
IBM, under the Options by IBM brand name.

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