Whether it’s for backing up your computer’s hard drive or taking files with you on the move, portable hard drives have never been larger, or cheaper, than right now.
Portable drives aren’t as cost-effective as desktop versions, or as quick, but the gap is closing. What’s more, if you’re short on space, they make the perfect backup solution.
The Iomega eGo Portable packs in an amazing 250GB of space onto its 2.5-inch notebook hard drive. The casing is something special, looking like a hip-flask that should hold hard liquor instead of software.
Available in silver or red, the drive holds the equivalent 62,500 MP3s or 250 hours of MPEG video or 250,000 digital photos. The drive itself has a 5400rpm rotational speed, which is as fast as you’ll find on any external drive and is powered through the USB port of your notebook or desktop PC.
There are a number of styles on offer, with either USB or Firewire connections and the drive is fully compatible with Windows and Mac OS machines. Simply plug-in and it’ll be recognised.
When you first install the drive you’ll find it is empty, as Iomega don’t ship any software with it but it comes with a license to download Secure EMC Retrospect for file backup.
When it comes to speed, we found it a quick and reliable drive, copying 1GB of data in a little over a minute, which is more than fast enough for most users. We also found that streaming DivX files from the drive and viewing was fine, resulting in no slow down, or break up of image/sound quality.
Our quick take
The Iomega eGo Portable is a great drive and the price has just been reduced, making it even better value for money.
Iomega eGo Portable 250GB hard drive - 4.0 / 5
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To recap
This isn't the smallest portable hard drive around but it offers plenty of space and looks good too