THE NEW STANDARD IN MULTIMEDIA STORAGE

PANASONIC ANNOUNCES PRICING AND AVAILABILITY OF PD POWERDRIVE2, WORLD'S
FIRST 2-IN-1 REWRITABLE 650MB OPTICAL DISK AND CD-ROM IN ONE DRIVE UNIT

PD Achieves Significant Price/Performance in Optical Storage Category;
Company Predicts Mass Market Acceptance of PD Within One Year

New York, NY, June 20, 1995 -- Panasonic Communications & Systems Company
(PCSC), a division of Matsushita Electric Corp. of America, today
announced pricing and July availability of its PowerDrive2, the world's
first removable, rewritable 650MB phase change optical disk and quad-speed
CD-ROM player based on PD technology in one drive unit. For the first
time, PowerDrive2 hits a breakthrough price point for phase change optical
disks and media, and Panasonic, the leading manufacturer of CD-ROM and
optical disk products, predicts that PD will reach the critical mass by
next year when it becomes the standard drive for multimedia computers. PD
PowerDrive2 uses a cartridge that is interchangeable and allows for
multiple usage on many computer platforms such as DOS/Windows for PC,
System 7 for Macintosh, Unix-based workstations and-LAN operating systems.
The PowerDrive2 will be on display at booth #3160.

Suggested Retail Pricing of PD PowerDrive2 is as follows:

LF-1000AB:      $995.00
(external drive with retail packaging for computer retailers)

LF-1004AB:      $895.00
(internal drive with retail packaging for computer retailers)

LM-R650A:       $295.00
(One box of five 650MB PD cartridges; also available as individual
cartridges at $59.95)

LF-SPD/DOS DD:  $ 49.95
(DOS/Windows installation software for a PC)

LF-SPD/MAC DD:  $ 49.95
(System 7 installation software for a MAC)


Also available for private label business is the LF-1094, a carton of ten
internal drives that will be sold to computer and drive manufacturers. The
retail packaged versions of PowerDrive2 will be available through
Panasonic authorized distributors, VARs and computer retailers.

"With PowerDrive2, the user not only has the benefit of a standard CD-ROM
drive but has access to an endless amount of data storage," said Timothy
J. Curran, vice president of the Computer Products Group. "As the number
of CD-ROM and software applications require the use of more hard disk
space, PowerDrive2 becomes the only viable alternative."

Panasonic's PowerDrive2 is the latest generation of phase change optical
technology. Designed as a mass-storage device for multimedia computing, PD
is well positioned for interactivity. Its 650MB PowerDisk cartridge stores
and retrieves computer generated data similar to a hard drive; its
quad-speed CD-ROM player allows users to read the widely prevalent 1X, 2X,
3X, and 4X CD-ROM titles as well as Audio-CD, CD-R, CD-ROM XA, video CD
and Kodak Photo-CD titles. PD PowerDisk cartridges will give today's
memory deficient PC's added flexibility, with increasing memory demands
from the Internet or new Widows 95 applications, PD will offer an easy way
to store and exchange data between users.

Other features of the dual function PD PowerDrive2 include:

* Same half-height form factor as the standard built-in CD-ROM drive
* Improved read/write throughput via the read/write cache function
  implemented in the buffer memory of the controller chip
* Adoption of the SCSI-2 standard for interface connectivity
* Inclusion of device drivers for System 7 on Mac and DOS/Windows
  on PC in the LF-1000AB and LF-1004AB retail packages

Panasonic expects PD to be the standard drive and media for future
multimedia computing. To that end, parent company Matsushita and Panasonic
are aggressively forming a support group for the PD format through
third-party partnerships. Major system and disk manufacturers plan to not
only manufacture the PD disk cartridge but also to incorporate PD in the
bay of the next-generation of multimedia computers. Panasonic
Communications & Systems Company in Secaucus, NJ is receptive to all
third-party software and hardware developers that are interested in
designing and developing PD products. Interested developers can contact
Rich Harada of Panasonic by fax at (201) 348-7973 to propose applications
and request sample availability.

In the United States, Panasonic Communications & Systems Company, a
division of Matsushita Electric Corp. of America, markets an extensive
line of office automation equipment that includes: laser, dot matrix,
compact page and thermal color printers; multifunction devices; multimedia
speakers; color monitors; optical disk and storage devices; gray scale and
color scanners; electronic filing systems; office copiers; electronic
whiteboards; electronic typewriters; facsimile machines; digital pagers;
personal communication systems; point-of-sale systems; business telephone
systems and notebook computers through Panasonic Personal Computer
Company.

Panasonic Communications & Systems Company
Two Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094
1-800-742-8086 or 201-348-7000

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