How a single word killed Iomega's brilliant storage device
The turn of the millennium was a good time to be into tech. Devices we use every day, like digital cameras, portable media players, and early handheld computers, were becoming mainstream, yet they all ran into a bottleneck with storage costs. Floppy disks held too little data, and the new solid-state flash memory was expensive, costing hundreds of dollars for only a few megabytes. This gap let established companies try to innovate, and one firm tried to use its history with removable media to launch a tiny, affordable format meant to act as the first reusable, digital roll of film. This was clever engineering that ultimately could not save a product line already collapsing under the weight of its tarnished brand history, and then market pressures finished the job.
The introduction of the Iomega Clik drive
Iomega tried to replace film with a tiny disks
Introduced in late 1998 and rolled out in 1999, the Iomega Clik drive addressed storage problems in the late 90s. At the time, devices like digital cameras, PDAs, and early MP3 players were popular, but storage space was limited. Flash memory, like CompactFlash and SmartMedia, existed, but cards often cost between $120 and $160 for very little space. Over 25 years ago , this was one of the best things to come out.
Iomega, following the success of its 100MB Zip drives , created a miniature, affordable storage medium. The Clik drive was meant to be a low-cost alternative to flash memory, acting like a digital, reusable photographic negative.
The hardware was a proprietary storage option using tiny disks that held 40 megabytes of data. Measuring about two inches square and 2.0 mm thick, these disks were essentially miniaturized floppy disks. Like a standard 3.5-inch floppy, the Clik format used a flexible magnetic medium inside a rigid metal shell with a spring-loaded sliding shutter to protect against dust.
Inside the drive, a tiny motor spun the disk at 2,941 RPM. The read/write heads accessed data with an average seek time of 38 milliseconds and a transfer rate up to 600 KB per second.
Iomega built the Clik system for mobile users. Drives were available in a PCMCIA Type II format that slid directly into a laptop or Windows CE device without needing external power. For standalone use, Iomega sold a drive with a rechargeable battery pack and a Flash Memory Reader add-on.
This let photographers put CompactFlash or SmartMedia cards into the Clik reader and transfer images onto a 40MB disk in the field, which meant they didn't need a PC. At about 10 dollars per disk, the Clik format was an affordable bridge on the market before flash memory prices crashed.
The click of death really did mean death
A new name couldn't hide the hardware issues
Iomega launched the Clik drive with terrible timing. The 100MB Zip drive had become known for a mechanical failure where misaligned heads caused a rhythmic clicking sound. This failure ruined the hardware and could destroy the data on the media.
This became known as the click of death. In September 1998, a class-action lawsuit accused Iomega of fraud after thousands of users complained. The word click became toxic for the brand. Iomega abandoned the Clik name and switched to PocketZip in 2000 to try to save the product line.
The rebranding didn't work because the format was already losing to better technology. Iomega stuck with magnetic media while flash memory cards were getting better. Since PocketZip used spinning disks and moving parts, it was less reliable than solid-state options like CompactFlash, which had no moving parts.
While flash memory started out expensive, prices dropped quickly, and capacities grew. The 40-megabyte limit soon became too small for most users. Camera makers and consumers preferred the ruggedness and falling costs of solid-state cards.
The combination of a bad reputation and the rise of high-capacity flash memory made the PocketZip obsolete almost immediately. Unfortunately, it was a string of misfortunes that ended up killing the brand.
This was a great idea for the time
Better technology made these disks obsolete
Originally, early digital cameras and MP3 players were held back by the high cost of flash memory. While a 32-megabyte card costs between 60 and 160 dollars, Iomega's 40-megabyte disks were only about 10 dollars.
This price difference gave people an affordable way to carry dozens of photos or audio files. Iomega used micro-engineering to shrink floppy technology down to two inches square. Even though they were small, the disks were well-protected.
They were housed in a thin metal casing with a rotating shutter to keep out debris. Each disk also came with a plastic protective sleeve, so you could put them in a pocket without worrying about damage.
That sounds great, but unfortunately for the company, flash memory prices plummeted faster than Iomega could iterate the mechanical PocketZip format. That is what ultimately killed the Clik drive.
Some ideas are only great for short periods
How good a technology is typically matters less than timing and how people see a product. This was amazing technology that failed because of a self-inflicted public relations problem. The name Clik was a mistake, as it immediately linked the product to the click of death lawsuits that affected the larger Zip drives. That word made people distrust a device that used similar mechanical parts. Also, it used mechanics that were becoming obsolete, and its brand reputation made people prefer reliable, non-moving parts to competitors. The PocketZip became an artifact of bad timing, doomed by the future it couldn't stop and a history it couldn't escape.
