Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red)
The 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive from Iomega is a portable hard drive in an external housing that can be powered via the system bus. The drive features a rotation speed of 5400rpm and a large 8MB data buffer. It is an excellent storage solution for notebook computer users.
- 500GB allows for storage of approximately 37.5 hours of uncompressed DV digital video, the equivalent of 106 4.7GB DVD video discs, or up to 125,000 MP3 files
- HFS+ formatted for Mac OS X, can be reformatted for Windows
- Includes Iomega QuikProtect for Mac, EMC Retrospect Express Backup for Mac, and the MozyHome Online Backup service, ensuring that your data is backed up and virus-free. The software disc itself is not included; it must be downloaded via the Internet
- Drop Guard protects the drive from damage caused by drops from heights of up to 51" (1.3 m)
- The eGo is hot-swappable and plug and play, allowing you to connect and remove it from a computer without the need to reboot
- Powered by the system bus via the data connection cable, the tiny drive is easy to take with you on the road
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB |
| Interface |
1x USB 2.0 1x FireWire-800 1x FireWire-400 |
| Drive Speed | 5400rpm |
| Buffer | 8MB |
| Average Seek Time | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| Sustained Data Transfer Rate | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| Drivers | |
|---|---|
| Supported | Not Required |
| Included | Not Required |
| System Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Mac |
Computer: PowerPC G3, G4, G5; Intel Mac Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5, 10.6 Memory: 128MB |
| Windows |
Computer: 300MHz Operating System: Windows 2000, 2000 Professional, XP Home, XP Professional, XP Professional x64, Vista Memory: 256MB |
| Hardware | FireWire-800, FireWire-400, or USB 2.0 port |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Mounting | Portable |
| Power Requirements | Bus-powered |
| Environmental Requirements | None |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 3.5 x 5.625 x 0.625" (8.9 x 14.3 x 1.6cm) |
| Weight | 0.5 lb (0.22kg) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 68 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
88%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Easy to use (47)
- Attractive (45)
- Easy to set up (45)
- Quiet (40)
- Large capacity / good size (39)
Cons
- No power switch (10)
- Unreliable (6)
- Slow (4)
- Difficult to use (3)
Best Uses
- Back-up (39)
- Additional storage (38)
- File transfer (30)
- Photo storage (28)
- Video (26)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Power user (33), Casual user (26)
- Primary use:
- Personal (36), Business (21)
- Computer Platform:
- Mac (7)
Most Liked Positive Review
Solid so far, no separation
With a week's worth of use as my experience so far, I can say that the eGo has worked exactly as advertised -- as a Mac-formatted external, portable hard drive. I partitioned the ...Read complete review
With a week's worth of use as my experience so far, I can say that the eGo has worked exactly as advertised -- as a Mac-formatted external, portable hard drive. I partitioned the 500 GB into a 300 GB Time Machine backup space and 200 GB of extra storage space for my 250 GB MacBook Pro. I use the FW 800 cable, which I find is too short to bring the eGo over to the right side of my desk since the connection is on the left side of laptop. Can't really judge speed, since my 50 GB of used hard drive space transferred in less than an hour, but I don't have anything to compare that too.
From reading other reviews, I have concerns about the unit getting too hot and then coming apart. It definitely runs warm and there isn't really much space along the bottom for air to circulate around it; taller rubber feet would have been better, which I may add on my own. I don't leave it plugged in and on all the time, so after it has created a Time Machine back-up or two, I eject the drive.
The unit is sleek and silent, very nice looking. I appreciate having the USB 2.0 and FW 400 options (and cables).
I must remember to plug it in after I start up, otherwise my Mac doesn't know where to go for start-up and I get the flashing ? on screen.
Overall, pretty happy so far. Be sure to register online to get the warranty extended to 3 years.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
So far so good
Working O.K. so far. But it does seem to get very hot, which could give me problems later. P.S. I was worried that because the price was so good from B&H ...Read complete review
Working O.K. so far. But it does seem to get very hot, which could give me problems later. P.S. I was worried that because the price was so good from B&H that I was getting the previous generation of the eGo. Thanks B&H, got the real deal at the same price that others were selling the previous generation for.
Reviewed by 68 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-20
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Pros
- Easy To Set Up
Cons
- No Power Switch
Best Uses
- Backup
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
THIS PRODUCT IS USED FOR STORING PICTURES, MUSIC, VIDEOS AND MORE!
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
The eGo portable mac edition hard drive is here to impress. Be it the bright range of colors offered by Iomega eGo or the never ending features, there is no comparison to this external hard drive. Of all the mac edition hard drives available in the market the eGo portable drive definitely suits my iMac better than any other drive. The drive supports USB 2.0 interface that allows quick transfer of data. The 500GB drive is definitely the closest match my iMac can get.
The famous drop guard feature is also available on my eGo ruby red drive thereby making it the best portable drive. The pack comes with QuickProtect for mac, retrospect express backup for Mac and MozyHome online backup service as well. All these take care of my data.
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
Red has always been my favorite color and when I saw the Iomega eGo Portable Mac Edition in bright Ruby Red color I was fascinated by it. I placed an order and it reached me in two working days. The red color was exactly what I saw on the website. There is nothing called installation process as the device has to be just connected to my Mac machine and files need to be moved onto the drive.
As many complain about the drive, I do not find it getting hot while connected for a long time, though there is some amount of heat radiated it is not so hot that you cannot touch it or sit next to it. I have been using it for 2 months and am completely satisfied with the device. There is nothing to complain so I would definitely refer a friend.
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
Portable external hard drives are a boon especially for people like me who travel extensively. The drive is bus powered that can be connected to any system that has a USB port. The rotation speed is 5400rpm which is comfortable for digital transfer. The device is apt for Mac as it is HFS+ formatted and can be reformatted for PC if you prefer.
Though, the device turns hot when used for long hours that did not bother me as it has a lot of good features to boast about than this one negative point. The hard drive can be daisy chained through which I connect to other devices. Daisy chain works fine with FireWire devices.
Pros
- High Capacity
Cons
- Didn't work out of box
Best Uses
- File Transfer
- Video
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I bought this drive to transfer video files quickly from one system to another.
When I first plugged in the drive it came up just fine and I started making a transfer - but it stopped after less than 100 GB saying drive full.
I put it through Disk Utility and it came back with "this disk needs to be repaired"
Once I did the repair it worked just fine, but that sort of infant failure is very disheartening.
- Primary use:
- Business
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Backup
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I have two of these drives and use them to make backup clones of my Macs. They are very compact, quiet, and reliable. The Firewire 800 interface makes for very snappy performance. I liked the fact that cables for all three interfaces are included.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Portable
- Quiet
Cons
- Slow
- Unreliable
Best Uses
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
Ttransfer rate is between 650 - 850 KB/sec. That is well under 1 MB/sec. It is the same when connected to either of my two Windows 7 laptops (one 32-bit and one 64). Same transfer rates with USB 2.0 or Firewire 400 or 800 connections. Iomega support says they do not guarantee transfer rate. As long as any file eventually transfers, they will not test or service it. As a photographer, this iomega drive is completely useless for transferring image files.
My iMac MB953LL/A 27-Inch specs: 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 Processor, 8GB RAM, 1GB HD, Snow Leopard.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
Cons
- Slow
- Unreliable
Best Uses
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I am disappointed in this drive. Transferring files is very slow. Average transfer rate is between 650 - 850 KB/sec. That is well under 1 MB/sec. It is the same when connected to either of my two Windows 7 laptops (one 32-bit and one 64). Same transfer rates with USB 2.0 or Firewire 400 or 800 connections. Iomega support says they do not guarantee transfer rate. As long as any file eventually transfers, they will not test or service it. As a photographer, this iomega drive is completely useless for transferring image files.
My iMac MB953LL/A 27-Inch specs: 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 Processor, 8GB RAM, 1GB HD, Snow Leopard.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
Cons
Best Uses
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
- Video
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I bought 3 external portable drives 1.5 years ago: this Iomega eGo Portable drive, a Western Digital Passport drive, and a Iomega Prestige Portable drive. The only drive that still works is the Iomega eGo Portable.
Buy this drive.
Do not buy portable drives that are small and sleek, they will break. Buy rugged and sturdy drives.
- Primary use:
- Business
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Quiet
Cons
- No Power Switch
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I purchased this to backup my Mac prior to an operating system upgrade and then to use for ongoing backups. It was easy to get everything set up, comes with multiple cables, and has worked flawlessly for the initial backup cloning and with Time Machine.
- Primary use:
- Business
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Portable
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Backup
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
Bought this to backup my Macpro laptop and external HD. I used the supplied firewire800 cable. As soon as i plugged it in, I had the option of using it as a HD or to back up my drives with Time Machine. Backed up internal and external drive in about 10 min.
Does the job I bought it for!!
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Set Up
- High Capacity
- Quiet
- Slender drop proof
Cons
- USB cables too short
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
- Video
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I purchased this device as a back-up drive for my new MacBook Air. The Mac Edition eGo is perfect for this task. It is tiny and has "drop protection" built into it. The only thing I don't like is the 2-pronged USB 2 cable. The length of the second cable [the two are hooked together; both are too short] is so short that it won't reach across the computer to insert into the computer's second USB port. This seems like a poor design given the two USB ports on the Air are on either side of the computer. I've used a USB 2 hub for the second cable, however, and this seems to solve the issue. Overall, this is a great, unbelievably small external hard drive.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Portable
- Quiet
Cons
- No Power Switch
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
- Video
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I use this as a backup for my Mac. It's small, light and works great.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
- Video
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
This drive works great with my brand new Mac laptop and 5 year old Mac desktop and my wife's PC laptop. It is easy to connect to any of these due to the three different connecting ports and the included cables. Firewire 800, firewire 400, and USB. All three computers recognized it instantly and have no problems with it. Very fast data transfer. Very quiet. Gets it's operational power from the computer so no power plug. I use it as backup for my desktop and data transfer for the others. Compact size and light weight. I carry it in my laptop case when I go out.
Not so great...The cable ports are not covered when not in use.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Set Up
- High Capacity
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Music Storage
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I've had this drive for a few weeks now. I use it for my iTunes music library connected via the Firewire 800 port. The drive works great and I really haven't had any problems.
Hopefully this will continue (no problems) and I'll get some decent use out of it. I highly recommend it!
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Portable
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Backup
- File Transfer
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I purchased this after my Western Digital MyBook crashed after 3 years. This unit is compact, quiet and very easy to get up and running with. The variety of interface connections (USB, and 2 FW) makes the unit versatile when backing up data on different machines. I would recommend this unit.
- Primary use:
- Business
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
- Video
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I bought this hard drive to back up my MacBook pro. Using it couldn't be easier...I took it out of the box, plugged it into my USB, opened Time Capsule, pressed start and let it do its thing. Voila! About 2 hours later, my 220G of stuff is safe and I have peace of mind.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
Cons
- No Power Switch
- Slow
- Unreliable
Best Uses
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
The USB connection worked, but the Firewire connection did not work on this drive. (Neither the Firewire 400 nor the Firewire 800 connections worked)
I was very frustrated to have to return this.
- Primary use:
- Business
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Music portability
- Photo Storage
- Video
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I purchased this external drive a a gift for my daughter who is a Mac Pro user and works for a PR company doing promotion business for indy bands. This is just what the doctor ordered because not only is it highly portable and can carry thousands of tunes, it has the superfast firewire connection that matches the one on the Pro. She loves it. And I got a great deal from B&H for [$] when everyone else wanted $150.
- Primary use:
- Business
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Quiet
Cons
- None
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
- Video
Comments about Iomega 500GB eGo Portable Mac Edition Hard Drive (Ruby Red):
I was looking for a portable storage device with the speed and versatility that Iomega eGo has... With the Firewire and USB ports it give you many options the other units do not have... It is also rugged enough to withstand a drop on the floor... I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a top quality reliable backup...
- Primary use:
- Personal
Displaying reviews 1-20
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What's in the Box
- USB Cable
- FireWire-400 Cable
- FireWire-800 Cable
- License for Backup Software
- Quick Install Guide
- 3-Year Limited Warranty
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