Iomega eGo 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 34512

5 comments

1. 

   Jonathan C. Lippe on September 26, 2009 at 9:11 pm

   This thing feels strong and reliable. However, I bought it hoping it would work with my XBOX 360 and it doesn’t. But that’s okay. I’ve repurposed it for something else and bought another hard drive. Everything worked out in the end – but it would’ve been nice for this to work in my XBOX 360 for videos and pictures and music.

   It’s got that double ended USB plug – so depending on how you feel about that you should know. I have Western Digital drives that are the same capacity that only have one USB – again whatever your preference.

   But this sucker feels tough – so I trust that my data is secure on it.

2. 

   NutMac on September 26, 2009 at 10:50 pm

   In this information age, data is perhaps the most important thing there is. But let’s face it. Storage devices are boring. Few years ago, manufacturers got creative with USB flash drive design. For example, 1GB Salmon Sushi USB Drive – So real you get hungry!!.

   Beyond the fun factor, however, we often need to carry a lot more information than these USB flash drives can hold. Western Digital started stylish portable hard disks trend with their Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable Drive WDMER5000TN (Real Red) series. Iomega upped the ante with eGo series.

   The drive looks and feels a lot like woman’s cosmetic compact. In fact, my wife and I tried flipping it open. Surrounded in stylish chrome border and beautiful red finish, this is one substantial high quality design. This might strike as a nitpick, but perhaps the only design weakness is the blue activity indicator light. I would’ve chosen subtler, white glow LED found on Apple notebooks. The blue indicator light cheapens otherwise very stylish, high quality product.

   The hard disk itself is very solid. Backed by generous 3-year warranty, this 320 GB hard disk spins at 5400 rpm. It’s formatted as a single 300 GB NTFS format partition. Mac users will need to format to HPFS+ or FAT32. It includes few security software for Windows you might want to backup, in case you are thinking of reformatting. The disk is very quiet like most modern notebook hard disks are and it connects to your computer with a bundled USB cable. The cable splits into two full-sized USB connectors in case your computer isn’t capable of supplying sufficient power. My iMac worked with just one USB connection, Dell Latitude notebook needed two connections.

3. 

   John Treusein on September 27, 2009 at 12:10 am

   This is a solid unit that is truly plug and play. Super quiet as well.

4. 

   C. CHACIN on September 27, 2009 at 3:07 am

   Muy bueno, pero me desilusiona que tengo que conectar dos (2) USB para ponerlo en funcionamiento (esto no lo dice por ningun lado) Me comnpre un router con media storage support para conectar el disco portable pero sorpresa cuando me consegui con esto. Por lo demas tremendo dispositivo, veloz, confiable, tremendo look.

5. 

   Jerry Saperstein on September 27, 2009 at 4:57 am

   Most hard drive products will not require you to call the manufacturer or distributor’s tech support. Generally, speaking the vast majority of hard drives will continue to function long after the warranty expires.

   Which, based on my personal experience with Iomega tech support, is a good thing because their tech support is awful. Fortunately, their products are high quality.

   The eGo is a stylish package, measuring about 3.5 x 5.25 inches and a bit more than a half-inch thick. The unit I was provided with has a Seagate mechanism with a 3 year limited warranty. Iomega is just a packager here, so you may get different drive mechanisms in the unit you purchase. You must register with Iomega to enable the 3 year warranty.

   Compared to the Western Digital My Passport Elite series, the Iomega unit is larger, heavier and less expensive. It has a drive activity LED and, unlike the WD unit, has a dual-plug USB cable. WD charges a lot for their cable. Such a cable is often needed with some laptops that can’t power the drive from a single USB socket. Overall, the Iomega eGo offers better value than the equivalent Western Digital unit.

   Iomega claims they use something called DropGuard which makes the drive more damage resistant when dropped from a height of 51 inches. For obvious reasons, I didn’t put that claim to the test.

   File transfer speed is most dependent on the specifications of the hard drive and the efficiency of the operating system and USB support chips. My tests indicate that the Seagate-equipped eGo unit is quite speedy.

   Happily, Iomega doesn’t clutter the drive up with all kinds of usually useless software. You can download their Iomega Protection Suite, a “comprehensive collection of valuable software to protect your data and computer” that includes McAfee VirusScan Plus, EMC Retrospect Express Backup software (system backup), Iomega QuikProtect (file-level backup), and MozyHome Online Backup service.

   I already have anti-virus software. I’ve never particularly like Retrospect. QuikProtect doesn’t seem to offer any advantages as a backup program. And the 2 GB of free MozyHome Online Backup Service competes with free solutions offering greater storage. I didn’t try any of these products or services.

   Overall, this is a nice product. Well designed, though a bit larger and heavier than the equivalent Western Digital product. Unlike the Western Digital unit, Iomega includes a dual plug USB cable, which is a great value. (The Amazon illustrations at the time of this writing include an image of the unit in a carrying case. No case is included with the product I received and I suspect it is an extra-cost accessory.)

   My only reservation is the experience I had with another product with Iomega’s technical support, which can only be described as awful. But, as I said, it is highly unlikely that you will need tech support assistance.

   Other than my one caveat, the eGo looks like a solid buy.

   Jerry