As computers continue to become ever more portable, it stands to reason that external hard drives will follow suit. Reliability, versatility and durability are all important in a portable hard drive, and Iomegais eGo offers all three along with good looks, too.
The eGo sports a flask-shaped metal shell thatis available in several colors, 160GB or 250GB capacities, and with either a USB 2.0 or USB 2.0/FireWire 400 combo interface. It includes Iomegais DropGuard technology to help protect the drive if it gets dropped or bumped, and weighs just under a half pound. I tested the combo interface model (product number 34155).
![]() The eGo (left) with a 3G iPod nano (right). |
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The drive ships with FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 cables, which is a nice touch that I wish printer manufacturers would pick up on. Including the necessary cables means you donit feel nickel-and-dimed, and wonit have to go back to the store to pick up another cable. As a bonus, the eGo comes with an extra USB cable with dual connectors: One for data, and a second for extra power. Thatis especially handy if your USB hub isnit pumping out enough juice to power the drive.
It also comes with a copy of EMCis Retrospect Express so you can set up an automated backup schedule.
The drive performs exactly as I like: Quiet and quick. It didnit vibrate at all even when sitting directly on the glass top of my desk, and hard drive chatter when reading or writing data was unnoticeable.
![]() The eGo includes FireWire and USB ports on its back. |
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Read and write speeds over FireWire fell in line with my expectations. Drive Genius II from Prosoft Engineering showed a maximum throughput of 27.35MB/s and a minimum of 4.426MB/s on its Random Read test, and 24.615MB/s and 9.786MB/s on its Random Write test.
Data | Random Read | Random Write | Sustained Read | Sustained Write |
---|---|---|---|---|
32K | 4.426 | 9.786 | 22.222 | 21.918 |
64K | 7.459 | 13.559 | 23.704 | 24.242 |
128K | 11.552 | 17.021 | 25.6 | 23.704 |
256K | 15.61 | 19.632 | 25.397 | 24.242 |
.5M | 20.915 | 23.881 | 25.397 | 24.427 |
1M | 23.704 | 24.806 | 25.197 | 24.615 |
2M | 26.446 | 24.615 | 24.806 | 24.806 |
4M | 26.667 | 24.615 | 25 | 24.615 |
8M | 26.446 | 24.615 | 26.016 | 24.615 |
16M | 27.35 | 24.615 | 24.615 | 24.615 |
The eGo is also AirDisk and Time Machine-compatible, making it a nice compact add-on for an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule. I found that the USB port on every Base Station I connected the eGo to offered enough power so that the dual-head USB wasnit necessary.
![]() The eGo was quiet, even on a glass desk top. |
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With all of those great features, what about the eGo could possibly disappoint me? The drive is just a little too big to comfortably fit in a pocket. A small complaint considering most people are more likely to toss the drive into a computer bag.
The Bottom Line
Iomegais eGo is a durable and good looking portable drive that performs well enough for on the go and most desktop needs. Thanks to its AirPort compatibility, it also works great as a wireless networked drive if your Base Station space is a bit cramped. If the case was just a tiny bit smaller, it would fit perfectly in most pockets... Or maybe I just need to get bigger pants.