Maxell Ships DAT 160

FAIR LAWN, N.J. -- Maxell Corporation of America, the technology and marketing leader in premium data storage media products, today announces general availability starting in May of DAT 160, the sixth generation DDS media, which has increased storage capacity and new features to help secure data for regulatory compliance.

Maxells DAT 160 media delivers up to 160GB of storage capacity (compressed) and a transfer rate of up to 49.3GB/hour (compressed). The increased capacity of Maxell DAT 160 has been achieved through the development of a wider tape and a re-engineered cartridge design. The width of the tape was increased to achieve higher capacity, while retaining the overall benefits of a compact DDS size.

New to DDS technology, the Maxell DAT 160 offers WORM (Write Once, Read Many) capability, allowing secure backup and storage of critical data for legal and regulatory compliance (such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA). The addition of WORM is the result of joint development efforts between the DDS media and drive manufacturers; and its presence adds even more to the DDS value proposition. The Maxell DAT 160 WORM cartridges will be easily identifiable by its two-tone black and light gray coloring.

A newly developed wide-tape cleaning cartridge (DAT/CL2) is also available for head cleaning maintenance of the DAT 160 drive to maintain clean head conditions for optimum data storage performance.

The DAT 160 is backwards compatible with DAT 72 and DDS-4, allowing small and medium size businesses to upgrade and take advantage of this newest technology, while at the same time maintaining access to previously recorded data. The backwards compatibility also means that previous DDS technology investments are extended.

DDS is an established leader in providing price/performance value to the entry-level storage marketplace. With the improvement in capacity and performance, while maintaining the form factor and affordability of its DDS predecessors, DAT 160 broadens and strengthens this extremely popular and cost-effect tape format.

According to Robert Amatruda, IDC Research Director, Tape and Removable Storage, in a recent IDC report on drive shipments,** DDS tape technology represented approximately 73 percent of the worldwide low end tape drive unit shipments in 2006.

“The development of DAT 160 and Maxell’s immediate product launch into the market is a prime example of our focused commitment and leadership role within the storage media industry,” said Steven Pofcher, Senior Marketing Manager at Maxell. “We are providing the highest quality data storage media and services that our customers can trust when backing up their business-critical information.”

Maxell Corp. of America