Struggling Iomega Corp can take some comfort from the news yesterday that IBM Corp is to offer internal versions of its Zip drive within 15 models of its commercial desktop PC range, including the PC 365, PC 300GL and XL, PC 330/350 and PC 300PL lines. IBM will sell the drives through authorized resellers from October, as a kit with an estimated price of $100, for resellers and integrators to install. The IBM 100MB IDE (ATAPI) internal Zip drive can be used either in conjunction with, or as a replacement for, the floppy drive, and integrators have the option of configuring the drive as drive A: providing the capability of booting up from the Zip drive. Iomega now claims to have sold over 16m Zip drives, but needs to persuade manufacturers to start building them into their products if it is to get them accepted as a replacement floppy – especially as Compaq Computer Corp and others are pushing an alternative – the LS-120 – into the same market niche.
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