An Alpha Guide to Iomega 500GB Hard Drives

An Alpha Guide to Iomega 500GB Hard Drives

When collating reviews for a guide, I firstly consider the ratio of positive to negative comments. The latter comprises the misery expressed by reviewers when the unit fails on them. It has to be said that the pain quotient' for the 500GB Iomega hard drives is impressively low, so low in fact that it may well be justifiably explained by poor packaging resulting in damage sustained in transit and/or a very low tech ability on behalf of the user. The irrepressible Eddie Izzard describes such low tech comprehension as techno fear' (as opposed to techno joy') and it is an accurate description for those who claim they cannot find the software (the installation software is preinstalled and works automatically with an additional suite of protective software available online) or cannot plug it in (the Y-shaped cable is standard for all USB 2.0 devices and simplicity itself, allowing the user to plug into one or two USB ports depending on the power required to operate the device).

The positives for the 500GB Iomega eGo range of hard drives covered their elegant styling, ease of installation and use right out of the box, and whisper-quiet operation. Interestingly, these were the briefest reviews because, as one enthusiast put it, "that about says it all".

My favourite of the negative reviews concerned the teenage user who decided to test Iomega's claim that the blackbelt edition of the 500GB Iomega eGo could sustain a drop of seven feet. This user lost a goodly portion of the information stored on his hard drive as a result of his spontaneous trial (fortunately he had thought to backup beforehand). The device, however, continued to function properly after the test which, though not meeting the maker's claim to the letter, is certainly an advantage worth having.

This built-in Drop Shock technology is a favourite of 500GB Iomega hard drives and features not only in the eGo and eGo Blackbelt range but is also a component of the Prestige model. (Unfortunately I found no reviews by budding Mythbuster proponents who had tested' this model's drop performance.)

Iomega 500GB Prestige consumers raved about the sophisticated elegance of the metal case, as opposed to a plastic one, its demon speed and silent operation. The only negative, and an oft-repeated one, was the poorly designed USB cable which failed to fit snugly into the back of the drive. This resulted in instant disconnection if the unit was bumped or nudged at all. One user solved the problem by shaving off about a millimeter of the plastic around the male connector piece after which it remained firmly plugged in even while being held upside down by the cord. Given that the USB cable is the only substantial complaint made by Prestige users, Iomega should look at instituting this simple solution at the manufacturing stage.

All in all, with its low techno fear' rating, the 500GB Iomega hard drives, particularly the Prestige models, deserve their alpha grade.

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