Computers
Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive Matches with Your MacBook Air
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 8:00 PM on September 17, 2008
Iomega, maker of many a sexy storage device, has a new eGo out specifically tailored to the MacBook Air set. The 2.5-inch eGo Helium Portable Hard Drive encloses 320GB in anodized aluminium. In case that's not enough space, the drive can utilise an online backup service for "cloud computing." The entire package is less than an inch thick, weighs 7 ounces (about 200 grams) and can be dropped from up to 4 feet 3 inches (1.3 metres) onto industrial carpeting without worry. Not that any of you will experiment with that, I hope.
Iomega Announces Must-Have for MacBook Air Owners:
New Ultra-Thin eGo Helium Portable Hard Drive
***
eGo Helium Delivers 320 Gigabytes of Stylish Storage for MacBook AirSAN DIEGO, September 17, 2008 - Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection and security, today announced the exciting new Iomega® eGo™ Helium Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 320GB*, a perfect match for the style and incremental storage needs of Apple's revolutionary MacBook Air™ notebook.
On display this week at the Apple Expo tradeshow in Paris, the new eGo Helium portable drive brings the MacBook Air™ notebook's aesthetic to Iomega's wildly popular eGo portable hard drive. In addition to the drive's portable storage, the eGo Helium also harnesses the benefits of cloud computing with Mozy™ online backup service, giving users incredible value and security for securely storing, protecting and accessing important files.
Cool Hardware
The tapered 320GB eGo Helium portable hard drive echoes the stylish lines of the streamlined MacBook Air™ laptop, enclosing a state-of-the-art 2.5-inch portable hard drive in an anodized aluminium shell to create a package that is a mere 0.63 inches thick (16 mm) and weighs only 7 ounces (200 grams). Formatted with Apple's HFS+ file system, the 320GB hard drive sports Iomega's Drop Guard™ design feature that protects the drive from drops of up to 51 inches (1.3 meters) onto industrial carpeting--40 percent above the industry average for portable hard drives. The eGo Helium receives power from the USB port so there's no power supply to carry around. And with space for up to 1,280,000 photos, over 5,920 hours of music or 480 hours of video**, the 320GB eGo Helium drive gives new meaning to stylish portable storage."Iomega's eGo portable hard drives have garnered tremendous attention in the beige world of external storage by offering consumers a choice of several different vibrant colours as well as a camouflage print and genuine leather," said Peter Wharton, vice president of marketing, Iomega Corporation. "The eGo Helium extends that strong commitment to delivering style with substance. What makes eGo Helium such an effective piece of industrial design is the way it dresses up a highly functional 320GB hard drive device into a durable and sleek package with plenty of storage capability, making it an easy-to-use 'eye-catcher' that's small enough to go anywhere."
Key Software
Iomega offers two Mac OS® X backup software applications with the eGo Helium portable hard drive as free downloads for added data safety: EMC® Retrospect® Express for Macintosh 6.1 software, and MozyHome™ online backup software (2GB free; unlimited online storage for $4.95/month). Retrospect Express protects a single Macintosh desktop or notebook computer by backing up to internal and external hard drives, NAS devices, CD/DVDs and removable drives such as Iomega's REV Backup Drive. MozyHome online backup service provides online storage for backing up selected folders or files to world-class EMC data centers.Computer users running the Windows XP or Vista operating systems can reformat the eGo Helium drive to NTFS for use with Windows only, or the drive can be formatted as Fat 32 for use with both Macs and Windows PCs. Customers running Windows XP or Vista can also download Retrospect Express HD 2.5 for Windows with MozyHome integration, which gives users the convenience of shared setup information and the ability to send backups to either nearline storage (an external hard drive or network drive), online storage (the Internet), or both.
Compatibility
The Iomega® eGo™ Helium™ Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 320GB is compatible with Mac OS X 10.1.5 or above and with Microsoft® Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, and Windows Vista™. MozyHome software is available for Mac OS X 10.4 and above, along with Windows XP and Windows Vista. EMC Retrospect software is available for both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.Price and Availability
The Iomega® eGo™ Helium Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 320GB will be available worldwide in October for $149.99 from online retailers, VARs, resellers and select retailers, as well as at www.iomega.com. (All pricing in this news release is U.S. suggested retail.)About EMC
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC's products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.About Mozy
Mozy is the leader in online data backup for consumers and businesses. With more than 850,000 users and 23,000 business customers, Mozy offers a simple, automatic and secure service for backing up data over the Internet. Mozy was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2007 and operates as part of the EMC Cloud Infrastructure and Services Division. Information can be found at www.mozy.com.About Iomega
Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation and headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage and network security solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, consumers and others. The Company has sold more than 400 million digital storage drives and disks since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega's product portfolio includes industry leading network storage products, external hard drives, and our award-winning removable storage technology, the REV® Backup Drive. To learn about all of Iomega's digital storage products and managed services solutions, please go to the Web at www.iomega.com. Resellers can visit Iomega at www.iomega.com/ipartner.

Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
andthepickles
Posted 8:56 PM 17/9/08
...oh who am I kidding? I wouldn't mind having one of these!
andthepickles
andthepickles
Posted 8:55 PM 17/9/08
I don't own a macbook air... Who owns a macbook air?
andthepickles
Drvec
Posted 9:21 PM 17/9/08
The drive would work better if they plugged it in rather than dangle the usb off the edge of the table
Drvec
Jon B.
Posted 9:49 PM 17/9/08
So where exactly did they plug the drive into?
Jon B.
hanswurst0815
Posted 9:45 PM 17/9/08
@hanswurst0815: will = with
hanswurst0815
hanswurst0815
Posted 9:43 PM 17/9/08
In the picture will the envelope it looks even thicker than a MBA.
hanswurst0815
Mandatory_Field
Posted 9:34 PM 17/9/08
It's called the "eGo" and it's for Mac Air owners? Subtle insult, Iomega? Lol.
Mandatory_Field
strider_mt2k
Posted 10:14 PM 17/9/08
Who's drives does Iomega use?
I see their stuff fairly cheap sometimes, but I like a reliable HD. I don't mind taking care of it.
strider_mt2k
MadColombian
Posted 10:52 PM 17/9/08
@Jon B.: Exactly. Because it looks like they plugged in in on the wrong side of the Air.
MadColombian
tr
Posted 11:29 PM 17/9/08
Iomega...? who are they? the name sounds so familiar...almost like the company and their products were relevant long ago...
tr
Late_Night
Posted 11:49 PM 17/9/08
Oh MacBook Air, how I love thee...let me count the ways as I want for Rev. 2.
Late_Night
shamowfski
Posted 12:18 AM 18/9/08
@Jon B.:
Yeah, mine ain't got no ports back there either.
shamowfski
Late_Night
Posted 11:56 PM 17/9/08
wait* Why am I so dumb?
Late_Night
sxs3200
Posted 12:22 AM 18/9/08
oh yay, another device to occupy my single USB port. Will someone please make a supported USB hub for the Air?
sxs3200
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Posted 12:20 AM 18/9/08
It's obviously too much to ask for maybe 1 more USB port, a firewire port, and a 2.5" SATA hard drive. But I digress.
I maintain that getting your own enclosure and hard drive is a way superior option, and cheaper for that matter. It's not the prettiest package, but it's damn well more reliable and cost effective. I loves me some Mercury case.
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Nongeek
Posted 3:31 AM 18/9/08
Please, Iomega? Their devices are a disaster of biblical proportions. I was done with that brand back in the days of the Zip drive.
Nongeek