Iomega Debuts 35GB Backup Drive

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115615,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115615,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"Iomega is releasing this week a new all-around backup solution: It uses hard drive technology, but is packaged in removable cartridges so you can buy one drive yet swap media. The Iomega Rev 35GB/90GB drive is available in several configurations. The external USB drive lists for $400; the internal ATAPI drive goes for $380. Both come with a single, 35GB cartridge. Individual disks will cost $60, or $200 for a four-pack."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/115615-n_040904_revdrive.jpg" /><br /><br />The Rev has a capacity of 35GB. The 90GB can be achieved, like in all backup solutions by doing compressed backup. On the other hand, if you are using this drive to back up your mp3s, oggs, etc, then the commpression backup will not get you any space benefit because the files are already compressed. One of the interesting things that this article points out is that hard drives are typically sealed so that dust particles don't get in and interfere with the drive platters and/or the drive head. Given that the drives themselves are hot-swappable here, like cartridges, they cannot be sealed and therefore they employ an interesting technique to keep the unit dust free on the inside.<br /><br />From previous threads here on DMT, most people appear to back up their data by burning CDs, but this could be a good solution for rapidly changing data. Any thoughts?

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Yes, but will the famous Click Of Death be back? =P

I think it's a tad expensive. I'd rather use 2 HDDs in RAID mode instead.

[OSUKid7]

I think it's a tad expensive. I'd rather use 2 HDDs in RAID mode instead.
I agree that it's too expensive for the average user to bacup, but RAID is not the answer. I seriously looked into RAID before building my current computer, and decided against it. Overall, it's better to backup manually than force the computer to write two sets of data for every action. RAID looks cool, but isn't meant to replace backup.

[sundown]

Wow Iomega is still around?

I agree that adding a backup HD is the way to go. When you can buy a name brand 120 GB HD for $99, why spend $400? If you need portability, get an external USB 2.0 enclosure. I think I saw one the other day at PC Club for $50.

[James Fee]

Wow Iomega is still around?
They just won't die. :twisted:

[Crocuta]

I went this route with the Jaz back when it was the only game in town. And at the time, 1GB was a heck of a lot of portable storage and it served me well. But that concept is so over. I can't believe they're trying to revive this idea which deserves to rest in peace. And 30 GB? Get a life guys, we'll have that on CF in a year. Make it 200 GB and maybe someone will bite. Not me, though.

[bdeli]

I bought the REV and installed it for a client last Friday. I was actually considering getting an external HD such as the Maxtor OneTouch (of which i own two) but this worked out better for a small workgroup (3pc's).

The drive is really small. Installation was a breeze other than I had to uninstall Sonic RecorNow due to an incompatability with the software. Once you pop in the tape it appears as a folder in XP - you can actually drag and drop files since it acts like an external HD.

I was only disappointed with the Iomega backup software bundled with the drive since it does not let you to back up shared drives - XP Pro Backup did the trick and it takes a minute or two to back up 1GB of data.

I would recommend this for small workgroups who need to take a tapes/disks out for offsite storage.