Product Description

The solution was so simple, so complete, and so needed when the 100MB Zip drive first came on the scene, that it's no wonder the Zip drive has earned a rock-solid reputation in the PC world as the preferred way to save, backup and collect your important files. Now, the 250MB version of the classic 100MB blue Zip drive is available, extending the Zip product family and the technology that's meeting the needs of the digital age. In addition, the amount of digital information is skyrocketing! Consider the size of even basic office application files, presentations, digital music, scanned family photos, digital video, tax files, financial records, not to mention the millions upon millions of web pages packed with information. It can be overwhelming.From all these choices, you'll pick what's valuable to you. You'll create and save. You'll download, and piece together a growing collection of content that's important to you. Your Zip 250 drive should serve as the safe deposit box for your library of PC files. Easy to duplicate and backup, rugged, reliable Zip disks can protect your data from hard drive crashes and even physical computer theft. And how about flexibility? The Zip drive detaches easily and goes where you go. Light and compact, the 250MB Zip drive can be the traveling person's complete solution, attachable to virtually any PC in the world. So go ahead, give your files room to grow. And give yourself the flexibility, transportability and reliability wrapped up in the 250MB Zip drive. You won't regret it.

Product Details

• Brand: Iomega
• Model: 31533

Features

• 250 MB USB drive with FireWire Adapter
• Ultra-thin, mobile design
• Compatible with USB-enabled or FireWire-enabled PC and Macintosh systems
• Up to 900KB/sec transfer rate with USB, 2.0 MB/second with FireWire
• FireWire adapter connects to the Zip 250 USB drive via the ATAPI connector on the back of the drive

Amazon.com Product Description
This Zip 250 MB USB/FireWire Drive Kit is perfect for the Mac or PC user who demands the speed of FireWire along with the near-universal connectivity of USB. Iomega's small and sleek 250 MB drive now has even more of the go-anywhere flexibility that mobile users demand.

The Zip 250 USB drive offers an ultrathin and mobile design that meets the high-capacity storage needs for both PC and Mac users. At 1 inch thick and weighing just under a pound, the Zip 250 USB drive can accompany the most demanding mobile computer user. Connect the drive conveniently with the industry-standard USB port, or for mobile users, the drive also provides a USB-powered PCMCIA interface.

The FireWire adapter will greatly increase the read speed of the Zip 250 USB drive from 0.9 MBps to over 2.0 MBps. It's plug-and-play, so you won't have to reboot every time you connect the drive to your PC or Macintosh. In addition, desktop systems with six-pin FireWire ports are capable of providing host power to the Zip 250 USB drive via the FireWire adapter. Hence, there's no need for a power supply.

Customer Reviews

Superb!
I needed an external drive in a hurry, and initially turned to external CD burners. However, after reading numerous reviews across a variety of sites, it quickly became obvious that none of the external burners were up to the task. According to reviews, most of them (HP 8000 series, Iomega Predator, etc...) suffered from reliability problems, and to exacerbate the matter further, transfer speeds were reportedly slow. Hence, in desperation, I turned to other forms of storage. To my delight, Iomega's Zip 250 USB/Firewire drive has performed excellently! I haven't had a chance to test out the firewire capability, but all I can say is that I am extremely pleased with its USB performance! I have successfully transferred all my files from my work computer (running on Windows NT) to my home computer (running on Windows 98), and there have been no software or reliability issues at all. Good going, Iomega! Now, if only they could pull their stock out of the pits........

not what I expect from a firewire/usb product
After first getting a USB portable zip and found it to be extremely slow, I returned it and bought a firewire Iomega zip. As I need it to be portable, I don't want it to require a power adapter. I was dismayed when I found out that the USB version requires a power adapter. While the firewire one does not, it is not that much significantly faster than the USB version. It is also bulkier than the USB version because of the adapter. It takes 7 minutes to transfer a 56 Mb file--not what I expect from a firewire connecting device.

Rear adaptor funky, but it works
I got the FireWire version of the Zip drive.
My previous purchase of the USB version has been flawless.
The FireWire version is a little funky because the firewire interface doesn't look "normal/integrated", there is this funky adaptor that attaches to the rear and appears to convert the firewire to something else (looks like SCSI).
The manner in which this adaptor attaches to the rear is a little precarious (looks like it won't stay hooked reliably).
But I in fact had no problem getting the software to work, and the drive has not given me any problems at all.