Review Iomega has re-invented its eGo portable hard drives, opting for a 'value-added' theme: when you purchase the 'PS' (Protection Suite) edition of an eGo, you get a bundle of backup and data security software included, plus slimmer, ruggedised hardware and the promise of a three-year warranty.

The redesigned case is slimmer and lighter: at 89 x 136mm and barely 15mm thick, the new eGo weighs just 170g. Call us faddish, but we thought the old eGo case design (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/11/09/review_iomega_ego_hdd/) was ugly, like some kitchen designer's idea of a hipflask. The new unit has smooth edges and corners all around, which certainly makes it cuter but also more comfortable to handle and, we dare say, easier to slip into your pocket when you're in a hurry.

We tested the "ruby" red model with a capacity of 320GB. The product is also available in silver and "midnight" blue finishes, and all three models can be purchased with 320GB or 500GB capacities. The base of the unit sports four little rubber feet to stop it from sliding off your desktop, but the case is otherwise featureless. There's a mini USB 2.0 port at one end - no Firewire on this model - along with a drive status LED, and that's it.

Although the drive is designed to run entirely using the power supplied down the USB connection, Iomega provides a double-headed cable to help deal with low-powered USB ports. If your feeble notebook can't supply sufficient power through a single USB port to keep the eGo running, you can slot the cable's second plug into another USB port to double up the juice.

Of course, if your USB ports are located on either side of your notebook, the Y-cable can't reach both. If your notebook has just one spare USB port, you're plain out of luck.

But being realistic, any correctly specified computer should deliver enough current through a single USB 2.0 port to power the eGo on its own. The manual says you must never attach the eGo to a USB hub, even a powered one, but we tried exactly that and experienced no problems whatsoever. Perhaps Iomega is simply covering itself against complaints from buyers with duff PCs.

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Overall disk performance was workmanlike but not outstanding. In one representative test, in which we copied a 1GB file to and from the eGo 320GB with our file system cache disabled, the unit achieved a read throughput of 16.5MB/s and a write throughput of 14.9MB/s. This doesn't compare brilliantly against our control device, an old Seagate FreeAgent 500GB desktop USB 2.0 drive, which achieved 25.6MB/s read and 22.6MB/s write in the same test.

File-transfer Speed Results

The eGo's throughput should be enough to stream media files to your computer but it does make everyday file copying and backup slower than they need be. On the other hand, its better qualities lie in portability and usability, so we can forgive the eGo for failing to be a speed demon. One of Iomega's more daring claims for the eGo is that it can survive the dreaded 'drop test'.

Although there's not a squeak of it in the manual, a sticker on the box and a mention on Iomega's website refers to a Drop Guard feature. This apparently means you can safely drop the unit a height of 1.3m - let's say up to elbow height for the general population - without causing damage to the eGo or the data on its hard disk.

Not wanting to incur the wrath of either Iomega, we confess that we didn't push this feature to its limit. The eGo seems happy to be dropped by er... accident onto a floor covered with office carpet tiles. We don't know what would happen if you dropped it onto a wooden floor or onto a pavement - sorry. Our limited trial, though, suggests that the eGo is at least rugged enough to survive being knocked off an office desk, which is possibly a more likely scenario than sending it crashing down some polished marble steps.

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Data security is also a feature of the Protection Suite software bundle. None of the apps are actually in the box: you need to download the programs separately and install them using the serial numbers provided.

The core of the PS bundle comprises EMC Retrospect Express for Windows and Mac, plus a copy of EMC Retrospect Express HD for Windows only. The first two are standard backup fare of the kind that tends to be bundled with USB drives, and perfectly good they are too. The HD edition is an off-the-shelf, standalone product that sells for around 50 quid and leads home users through backup tasks using a friendly wizard interface.

Also included is Iomega's own QuickProtect for Windows - a very basic file-copy backup utility that does not require any special software to restore the files - and a six-month subscription for McAfee VirusScan Plus for Windows. By now, you have probably realised that Mac users are missing out a bit.

One final cross-platform inclusion is the promise of a free 2GB worth of online storage at the MozyHome Online Backup. This would be generous if it wasn't for the fact that MozyHome already offers 2GB of free online storage to everyone anyway.

Verdict

The new eGo 320GB is slim, light and good-looking. It's rugged enough to deal with knocks and even the occasional drop - onto carpet only, please - but the much-lauded Protection Suite software bundle is uninspiring: Retrospect Express is definitely worthwhile but the other bits and pieces feel like, well, just bits and pieces. So, the eGo is not the fastest nor the most feature-packed pocketable disk drive around, but it does the job very stylishly and the price is competitive. ®

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