4. In Noble Aluminum: Iomega Mini Hard Drive

Measuring 2.9" x 0.5" x 3.5" (7.4 x 1.3 x 8.9 cm) the Mini Hard Drive is considerably larger and heavier than the Arcdisk from Archos. That said, at four ounces (120 grams) the device slips easily into your shirt pocket when you're out and about, without so much as pulling on your collar.

Iomega chose noble-looking aluminum for the case.

Besides the drive, the package includes

The sticker on the packaging claims that Photoshop Album 2.0 is also on the CD; this, however, proved not to be the case on our test device.

Nothing doing: The promised PS Album is nowhere to be found

There is no backup software either. You do have the option though of downloading Iomega's Automatic Backup Software - or rather a free 30-day test version - from the company's website. To do so however, you must register the drive via the Internet.

Iomega Backup has the option of automatic or time- and event-controlled data backups.

This solution does not measure up for professional use, being aimed more at backup novices looking for a simple and automatic way of making copies of important data on a mass storage device. This software also does not allow system backups.

Power is supplied to the drive either by USB or an optional mains unit. A small switch on the case toggles between the two operating modes.

For the hard drive, Iomega opted for Hitachi's Travelstar C4K40. The two platters on the HTC424040F9AT00 spin at 4200 RPM; it has a cache of 2 MB.

Opening the drive case reveals an interesting detail. To protect the drive against bumps and vibration, Iomega uses an antistatic bag more or less cut to shape. Hard drives are generally delivered in this type of packaging. We think it's a very pragmatic approach.