Iomega eGo 320GB review

Iomega has given its eGo range of portable hard drives something of a makeover. Gone is the hip-flask styling and metal case of old - the drives now look like coloured versions of the company's eGo Helium range.

One of the most important features of a portable drive is its ability to withstand the rigours of being carried around in a bag. Iomega's DropGuard technology protects the eGo from damage if it's dropped, and the drive itself is housed in an anodised aluminium shell. The plastic outer case is more susceptible to cracking than a metal one, though. One neat feature is its rubber feet, which help secure it to a desk. The only other external feature is a blue neon status light on the rear next to the interface ports.

The key difference between these eGo drives and Iomega's Helium range is that they have FireWire 400 and 800 interface ports, as well as a USB socket. We particularly like the fact that the eGo has separate ports for FireWire 400 and 800. Many drives that support FireWire have only 800 ports and ship with a converter cable. That said, this is likely to appeal more to owners of older MacBooks and MacBook Pros, as new models don't support FireWire 400. The eGo is powered from the data ports, but there's an included Y-cable so you can plug the drive into two USB ports if one doesn't provide sufficient power.

The eGo isn't supplied with any software, but Iomega QuikProtect and Retrospect Express are available to download from protection-suite.iomega-web.com for free. Mozy Home is also available and is free for up to 2GB of data. We tested the red version of the drive, but it's also available in silver and blue. In our tests using its FireWire 800 interface, the eGo fared reasonably well, managing to read and write sequential uncached blocks at a shade under 60MB/sec.

We like the eGo - the price is about right, and it performs well, although we'd prefer it if it had an aluminium casing.