Iomega, SonicBlue Forge Strategic Relationship
Software and hardware developer Iomega will work with device maker SonicBlue to incorporate Iomega's PocketZip storage disks into SonicBlue's Rio digital audio players. Earlier this month, Iomega announced plans to increase the capacity of PocketZip disks from 40MB to 100MB while keeping the same price. Scheduled to be available in the third quarter, the 100MB disks will continue to cost $10 to $15. Currently, Iomega's 40MB disks can be used in Iomega's HipZip player and devices from Frontier Labs and Sensory Science, among others. With the Iomega agreement, SonicBlue's Rio devices eventually will support several different media storage formats. Rio players currently use SmartMedia Flash memory cards and forthcoming models will support PocketZip and DataPlay disks. SonicBlue has an equity stake in Boulder, Colo.-based DataPlay, which is developing a 500MB disk scheduled for release later this year.
