Iomega toughens up hard drives

IOMEGA, ONE OF EMC'S progeny, has announced global availability of its latest USB chargeable, Ego portable hard drive packed with a plethora of data protection and antivirus goodies.

The firm is offering the drives in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities boasting "superior ruggedness" [you can apparently drop the blighter from a height of 1.25 metres without destroying it], a three-year limited warranty [just in case the whole dropping thing doesn't work out] and some McAfee anti viral protection.

With a shell just over half an inch thick (16mm) and weighing just 200 grams, the little 2.5-inch hard drive really is portable enough to stick in the pockets of your baggiest pants.

Iomega is also trumpeting its upcoming Ego BlackBelt, another 500GB hard rive due out in June. The blackbelt will purportedly have an even better drop rate than its non-belted sibling, with the firm claiming it can withstand a 2.1 metre plunge, something Iomega claims is "over twice the industry average".

The drives are all compatible with Windows 2000 Professional, XP, Vista, as well as Mac OS X 10.4 or above.

As for recommended pricing, punters can expect to pay $85 for the 250GB model, $95 for the 320GB and $135 for the 500GB flavour. The 500GB BlackBelt, which hits shelves in June, will set customers back $140.µ