Iomega gets ready for war with its rugged, quarter-terabyte Camo

By Michael Hatamoto, BetaNews

May 7, 2008, 4:28 PM

Adding another product to the ever-growing mix of portable hard drives, Iomega Corporation today introduced its new eGo USB 2.0 Camo, designed with a military camouflage theme and a promise of withstanding punishment.

The 250 GB 2.5-inch HDD measures .91" x 3.84" x 5.56", weighs just 0.6 lbs., and is compatible with Windows 2000 and later, and Mac OS X 10.1.5 and later. Iomega chose to make the HDD powered by USB only, so no power supply is required, thus radically increasing portability -- you don't have to lug around a power adapter.

Although Iomega claims its DropGuard technology already helps eGo endure a fall of up to 51 inches, the additional Power Grip band that wraps around it raises its drop survival data point to 60 inches. Traditional hard drives can typically withstand falls of up to 40 inches before sustaining damage.

This isn't the first entry in the portable durability category. Corsair has its Survivor line of flash USB drives that have a durable, drop-tested aluminum casing that reviewers have had a difficult time trying to destroy.

The Iomega eGo Camo Portable HD is available now with a $149.95 MSRP. Iomega plans to continue adding HDD models to its eGo product line in the future, but did not disclose product descriptions.

Storage systems maker EMC purchased Iomega last month, and hopes to use Iomega's brand name to increase its presence in the consumer market. Moving forward, EMC will use Iomega as the centerpiece for its consumer storage products, though EMC has not disclosed if it will let Iomega continue to use its own component manufacturers to make storage products under the Iomega name. Iomega was best known for its production of Zip drives more than a decade ago.