Iomega enhances eGo portable drive range

The eGo range is guaranteed to survive drops of over a metre

Storage firm Iomega, which was acquired by EMC last year, has unveiled several additions to its eGo Portable Hard Drive range aimed at protecting data from physical and virtual damage.

The new USB 2.0 powered models store up to 500GB, and include a suite of backup and anti-virus tools as well as the company's Drop Guard technology to prevent damage if the drive falls onto a hard surface.

"The new Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drives are the perfect companions for home users and professionals that want to take their files anywhere with the assurance of a superior rugged portable drive that has style to spare and a compact form with flair," said Iomega president Jonathan Huberman.

The 2.5in drives are stored in a 16mm anodised aluminium casing, and are certified to be protected from drops of nearly 1.3m. The units also ship with a six-month subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus, Iomega's QuikProtect file backup software, EMC's Retrospect Express or Express HD for system level backups, and 2GB of web-based storage through MozyHome Online Backup.

The new drives also ship with a USB 'Y' cable, which enables owners to use a single USB 2.0 port or two USB ports to power the drive, if needed.

The 320GB models are priced at around £80, while the 500GB models should sell for £110.

Iomega plans in June to release the range with multiple interface combinations, as well as a fourth version, the BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive 500GB, which comes with a black eGo Power Grip Belt and will be able to sustain drops of up to 2.1m.