NEC'S CD-ROM READERS PROVIDE 3X PERFORMANCE, FASTEST SPEED -- WHILE RAISING
THE BAR FOR FUNCTIONALITY AND DESIGN

(Wood Dale, Ill.--October 5, 1993)--Expanding upon its technological
leadership in CD-ROM, NEC Technologies, Inc. today redefined the CD-ROM
computing experience by unveiling its new family of MultiSpin 3X CD-ROM
readers. The new readers combine performance, functionality and design to
provide customers with easy-to-use equipment that takes the mystery out of
CD-ROM while offering the best video performance available.

The MultiSpin 3Xe (external) and MultiSpin 3Xi (internal) CD-ROM readers
access data in 195 milliseconds and the MultiSpin 3Xp (personal) reader
has an access time of 250 milliseconds. All three readers transfer data at
450 KB/second, three times the normal data transfer rate of 150 KB/second.
These performance enhancements maximize the impact of multimedia by
providing fast data retrieval, true smooth motion video and animation. The
MultiSpin 3X family begins shipping immediately.

As the inventors of double-speed technology, NEC asked itself how it could
take CD-ROM hardware to the next level. NEC's answer? To arm its MultiSpin
3X readers with self-installing CD-ROM tutorial software, well-designed
ergonomic cabinets and audio control panels for direct music access. That
means that the MultiSpin 3X family of CD-ROM readers is easy to set up,
easy-to-use and the external readers have the added benefit of being able
to be used as stand-alone musical CD players. These additional features
make the entire CD-ROM computing experience more enjoyable, especially
when coupled with the dramatically improved performance customers have
come to expect from NEC.

"As the leader in CD-ROM performance technology, NEC is committed to
pushing all edges of the performance envelope to the outer limits,"
explained Marc Miller, vice president of NEC Technologies' Advanced Media
group. "The new MultiSpin 3X family combines the most advanced performance
technology available today with the features and functions customers have
always wanted to create the ultimate CD-ROM experience."

Beyond the Need for Speed

For the last few years, speed has been the determining factor most people
have used in selecting a CD-ROM reader. With the new MultiSpin family, NEC
looked beyond speed and technical specifications to user-friendly
features, practical functionality, component integration and customer
driven design, with the goal of enhancing the overall CD-ROM computing
experience.

To help with the rethinking process, NEC utilized input from customers,
technical support and marketing staffs as well as focus groups. As a
result, unique experience-enhancing features of the MultiSpin 3X family of
readers include:

o Music Sensor -- The MultiSpin 3X family comes equipped with
NEC's Music Sensor technology, which enables users to play audio CDs from a
MultiSpin 3X reader with or without a computer. Now, users can enjoy
playing music on their CD-ROM reader as effortlessly as on a home stereo.

o New Ergonomic Design--Demonstrating its commitment to the entire CD-ROM
experience, NEC completely redesigned the cabinets of the MultiSpin family
of readers. The sleek new designs incorporate the smooth lines of
space-age design in all aspects of the reader, including a newly designed
dust door, which makes single-handed disc loading and ejecting possible.
In addition, up-front controls make the new 3X readers as easy and
familiar to use as a stereo component. And now, customers have the option
of purchasing the 3Xp in traditional beige or granite grey to match their
notebook computers.

o LCD Panel Display--NEC installed LCD panels in the MultiSpin 3X family to
make locating specific music tracks possible without a computer and to
provide a visual interface that can help customers troubleshoot common
problems themselves.

o New Rotating Double Dust Door--To provide even more dust protection, NEC
improved upon its industry-praised double dust door, making it more
accessible and easy-to-use.

o Simplicity Features--In order to make understanding and using CD-ROM as
easy as possible, NEC has bundled an interactive CD-ROM with each reader.
The disc contains video tutorials, interactive help, registration
assistance and demos of top CD-ROM software titles. Additionally, those
using NEC's AT interface with one of the 3X readers will receive Simple
Start installation software. Simple Start software gives users the choice
between automated and custom installation, eliminating much of the
confusion that often occurs during CD-ROM installation.

"CD-ROM manufacturers have concentrated so much on improving speed that
they have lost sight of the human element of computing," explained Miller.
"NEC is a market leader because we focus on the entire CD-ROM computing
experience, believing that products should be as easy to install as they
are to use. The innovative features we've included in the MultiSpin 3X
family of readers make them intuitive, accessible and productive, making
the experience a customer has using our readers an enjoyable one."

MultiSpin and More

In addition to offering impressive 195 millisecond (3Xi and 3Xe) and 250
millisecond (3Xp) access times and 450KB/second data transfer rates, the
new MultiSpin 3X family of CD-ROM readers meet or exceed every industry
standard, including the new Multimedia PC (MPC) Level 2 specification. The
new NEC MultiSpin CD-ROM readers are Kodak Multisession Photo-CD and
QuickTime compatible and come equipped with a 256KB continuous flow cache
and SCSI 1 and SCSI 2 switchable interface. All three drives can be daisy
chained through two SCSI II connectors located on the back of each unit.
16-bit interface kits are available for AT and PS/2 users.

NEC Software Alliances

To provide users with additional performance benefits, NEC has formed
Strategic Software Partnership (SSP) alliances with leading software
companies to develop programs that have been specifically written to take
advantage of a MultiSpin CD-ROM reader's performance edge. Companies
working closely with NEC include: American Business Information,
Broderbund, Compact Publishing, Corel Systems, DeLorme Mapping, Drew
Pictures, Grolier Electronic Publishing, Knowledge Adventure, Macromedia,
Pop Rocket, Presto Studios, Spectrum HoloByte, Time Warner Interactive
Group, Trilobyte and Voyager.

NEC's Strategic Software Partnerships represent a significant breakthrough
for the industry. Due to the lack of a single standard in the multimedia
industry, software applications often have not taken advantage of the
technology available in newer CD-ROM readers. Consequently, software
developers were creating applications for the least common denominator.

"Now that the market is maturing and standards have arisen, partnerships
like NEC's SSP program will enable developers to write software that takes
advantage of new technology like 3X, but also runs on the installed base
of CD-ROM readers," explained Miller. "We call this type of software
'scalable software' and believe it will help the market realize its
potential much faster. In the end, the consumer is the big winner."

To help customers recognize and take advantage of scalable software, NEC
has developed a trademarked MultiSpin logo which SSP members will use on
their packaging to let customers know that the software supports NEC's
MultiSpin 3X family of CD-ROM readers.

The Evolution of the MultiSpin Revolution

In 1991, as access times of CD-ROM readers began improving, NEC began
focusing on improving the data transfer rate of CD-ROM readers in order to
bring the much-heralded benefits of multimedia to life.

By spinning the disc twice as fast and re-engineering the Error Code
Correction (ECC) Chip, NEC engineers were able to transfer data from the
CD-ROM reader to the CPU at 300KB/second--twice as fast as any other
CD-ROM reader on the market at the time. The readers also recognized
sound-only information and automatically adjusted to transfer that data at
the standard 150KB/second recording rate. Doubling the data transfer rate
drastically improved the quality of motion video from a CD and shortened
delays in accessing large files such as the photos stored in Kodak Photo
CD format. NEC named its new high-performance readers the MultiSpin
family.

The new MultiSpin 3X family take that original technology one step further,
transferring data at 450KB/second and further improving the quality of
CD-ROM computing.

"With the new MultiSpin 3X family of readers, NEC is defining what
multimedia computing will mean in the 1990's," said Miller. "As users
became comfortable with CD-ROM technology and appreciated the benefits of
double-spin, their expectations of the technology began to rise. The new
MultiSpin family of readers exceed today's performance expectations and
contain a built-in upgrade path that make them the smart purchase for the
future."

MultiSpin Upgrade Path

NEC plans on developing an upgrade program for customers who purchased a
MultiSpin 74, 84 or 38 CD-ROM reader. Details will be announced as soon as
they are finalized.

Warranty, Shipping and Pricing

The MultiSpin 3X CD-ROM readers begin shipping on October 5, 1993 and can
be purchased through NEC's nationwide network of authorized resellers and
at selected superstores. For added security, all MultiSpin readers come
with an aggressive two-year limited warranty.

Designed for multiple platform use, MultiSpin 3X CD-ROM readers can be
easily attached to XT/AT, Macintosh and PS/2 systems. A newly improved
Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) Interface Kit enables users to hook up a
MultiSpin CD-ROM reader to a laptop computer and fully utilize the
transfer rate of the readers.

Estimated selling prices of MultiSpin 3X family are:

                                 U.S. Pricing  Canadian Pricing

MultiSpin 3Xe (external model)      $ 600            $ 831
MultiSpin 3Xi (internal model)        500              695
MultiSpin 3Xp (personal model)        455              630

AT 16-bit Interface Kit               125              208
Macintosh Interface Kit                35               49
PS/2 16-bit Interface Kit             150              207
Enhanced Parallel Port Kit            160              221

NEC Technologies. Inc.

NEC Technologies, Inc. is a leading supplier of computers, peripherals and
presentation products for the North American market. Product lines include
award-winning MultiSpin CD-ROM readers, MultiSync monitors and
presentation products, ProSpeed laptop and UltraLite notebook computers,
Silentwriter and Colormate printers, PowerMate, Image, Express and Ready
computers. NEC Technologies, Inc. is a subsidiary of NEC Corporation.

NEC Technologies
1255 Michael Dr, Wood Dale, IL 60191
708-860-9500

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