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On Monday, Iomega Corp. is expected to announce a deal to license NAS startup Ximeta Inc.s technology, Ximeta executives said last week.
According to Ximeta chief executive Edward Park, Iomega will license the Ximeta NDAS (Network Direct Attached Storage) technology, which allows network-attached storage to also directly connect to a PC through a USB 2.0 or other connection. Park also said Ximeta will ship a smaller version of its NDAS device, the NetDisk, as well as a version that combines a hard disk with a wireless router.
Once the province of IT departments and small businesses, NAS devices are beginning to emerge as consumers network their primary and secondary PCs. The devices can be used as a repository for large multimedia files, and to store backups of critical data as well as disk images.
Ironically, Iomega has already announced a drive very similar to the NetDisk, although Park said it would form the low end of Iomegas product line. Iomega announced the Iomega Network Hard Drive on Nov. 11, a network-attached hard drive that also features a USB 2.0 connection. Like the Ximeta drive, two or more Network Hard Drives can be aggregated together to form a larger virtual volume. Iomegas drive will ship in late December and include both a $299 120-GB model and a $429 250-GB model.
Iomega representatives could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Ximetas Park said that the company plans to take the NDAS concept further by taking it mobile. The company plans to introduce a 40-GB mobile NetDisk Mini in December, which the company will ship in volume quantities early in January for an estimated price of $249.99. The portable NetDisk contains a ruggedized Momentus hard drive from Seagate, allowing it to be taken on the road with less of a chance for data loss. Park said the device would be officially announced on Nov. 19.
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