Price : Too low to display
A sleek new design and great new features! The Iomega Prestige Portable Hard Drive features a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface so you can transfer files at up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 (requires USB 3.0 PC for best performance). Iomega USB 3.0 drives are backward compatible to USB 2.0 using the same USB cable. So enjoy fast speeds now if you have a USB 3.0 computer or use USB 2.0 and be confident you can upgrade later! This durable metal drive is perfect to slip in a bag or pocket to take anywhere your laptop goes. USB powered, it requires no external power supply. AES 256-bit hardware encryption is built-in so you can feel confident taking your drive anywhere. Iomega Protection Suite is included via download with several backup software solutions, plus includes a free one year subscription for antivirus software. Includes a 3-year warranty when you register your product.
This review is from : Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 3.0/USB 2.0 SuperSpeed Portable Hard Drive 35303
Iomega prestige 500gb-super speed-super fast. . You can make the most of this device if you have a 3.0 usb compatible system. At first I couldn't use the 3.0 version since my pc did not have that usb port, but still it worked fine, plus the encrypted security software introduced with this device is really good, keeps all my data safe. But when I recently got a mac, and started using the 3.0 usb of this drive, I could see the difference pretty clearly. The data transfer speed increased upto 10 time of the 2.0 usb !! It was insane. I did have a slight hitch with the software for some time, but it's all fine now and has been so for about 8 months.
Iomega prestige 500gb-super speed-super fast. . You can make the most of this device if you have a 3.0 usb compatible system. At first I couldn't use the 3.0 version since my pc did not have that usb port, but still it worked fine, plus the encrypted security software introduced with this device is really good, keeps all my data safe. But when I recently got a mac, and started using the 3.0 usb of this drive, I could see the difference pretty clearly. The data transfer speed increased upto 10 time of the 2.0 usb !! It was insane. I did have a slight hitch with the software for some time, but it's all fine now and has been so for about 8 months.
Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 3.0/USB 2.0 SuperSpeed Portable Hard Drive 35303 Reviews
Iomega 1 tb usb 3.0 External HDD . This is my first time doing a review for an external hard drive so bear with me please :) This is the first time I ever bought an external harddrive and I saw the Iomega 2.0 1 tb and all the other ones with programs included, etc and waited until I got this one.
Some reasons why I got this one: It's a 1TB with USB 3.0 (planning on getting a new laptop soon). It also doesn't come with any hardware like WD smartware or whatever you hear about.
The hard drive looks GREAT. It looks like the picture; it's a very dark gray, almost black brushed aluminum design. No fingerprint magnet at all. When it's plugged in, you have a pale white light that blinks and isn't distracting at all. Of course, for a 1 TB, it's a little thicker and heavier than regular hard drives. I've been transferring files for awhile and it hardly gets warm and there's almost NO sound to it. It only has a very small humming noise and you can only hear that if you put your ear onto the hard drive case.
It comes with a Y shaped USB for more power if you need it.
Also, mine came with a 1 TB TOSHIBA/SAMSUNG hard drive and it works great.
I haven't been able to test out speeds right now, but it certainly isn't slow.
Oh, and I also bought a Case Logic Compact Portable Hard Drive Case (Black) to match my black hard drive and it fits perfectly. I highly recommend you to get one of these with your drive.
I'll update this review as time goes along, but those who are interested in buying one, I highly recommend it.
Iomega 1 tb usb 3.0 External HDD . This is my first time doing a review for an external hard drive so bear with me please :) This is the first time I ever bought an external harddrive and I saw the Iomega 2.0 1 tb and all the other ones with programs included, etc and waited until I got this one.
Some reasons why I got this one: It's a 1TB with USB 3.0 (planning on getting a new laptop soon). It also doesn't come with any hardware like WD smartware or whatever you hear about.
The hard drive looks GREAT. It looks like the picture; it's a very dark gray, almost black brushed aluminum design. No fingerprint magnet at all. When it's plugged in, you have a pale white light that blinks and isn't distracting at all. Of course, for a 1 TB, it's a little thicker and heavier than regular hard drives. I've been transferring files for awhile and it hardly gets warm and there's almost NO sound to it. It only has a very small humming noise and you can only hear that if you put your ear onto the hard drive case.
It comes with a Y shaped USB for more power if you need it.
Also, mine came with a 1 TB TOSHIBA/SAMSUNG hard drive and it works great.
I haven't been able to test out speeds right now, but it certainly isn't slow.
Oh, and I also bought a Case Logic Compact Portable Hard Drive Case (Black) to match my black hard drive and it fits perfectly. I highly recommend you to get one of these with your drive.
I'll update this review as time goes along, but those who are interested in buying one, I highly recommend it.
Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 3.0/USB 2.0 SuperSpeed Portable Hard Drive 35303 Opinions
Good even if you don't have USB 3.0 yet . In my workplace I give out mini hard drives for people who want to back up things and who need to do presentations with large video files from machines they don't own. I've used a lot of the Iomega Prestige drives and this one is as good as any of them, with a few advantages:
It's metal and very svelte. You could fit this in a shirt pocket. Smaller than previous models.
The USB connector is back on the back again in the center. Some models had it on the side and it was an eyesore.
Speed!
Even on a Usb 2.0 system, you get some initial "burst" speed that is double what the previous models, including the Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 34808 achieve. I did some tests of copying data to and from the previous usb 2.0 model above and this one and my results:
The USB 2.0 model peaked out at 31 Megabytes per second, settling in at 25.5 Megabytes per second copying 179GB of data.
This USB 3.0 model achieved a peak of 87 Megabytes per second, settled in a 45, then again at 32.9 and then finally at 21.3 for the same data from the same machine.
So lesson learned: At least on a USB 2.0 machine or for small copy jobs you might expect faster service but after the copy rate settles down, on a USB 2.0 machine it may even be a bit slower than the previous model.
Of course once I have access to a USB 3.0 machine or get a USB 3.0 card for my machine, I will be updating my review! Otherwise, I see no drawbacks on this model for anyone who has a USB 2.0 machine looking to "future proof" or otherwise.
Good even if you don't have USB 3.0 yet . In my workplace I give out mini hard drives for people who want to back up things and who need to do presentations with large video files from machines they don't own. I've used a lot of the Iomega Prestige drives and this one is as good as any of them, with a few advantages:
It's metal and very svelte. You could fit this in a shirt pocket. Smaller than previous models.
The USB connector is back on the back again in the center. Some models had it on the side and it was an eyesore.
Speed!
Even on a Usb 2.0 system, you get some initial "burst" speed that is double what the previous models, including the Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 34808 achieve. I did some tests of copying data to and from the previous usb 2.0 model above and this one and my results:
The USB 2.0 model peaked out at 31 Megabytes per second, settling in at 25.5 Megabytes per second copying 179GB of data.
This USB 3.0 model achieved a peak of 87 Megabytes per second, settled in a 45, then again at 32.9 and then finally at 21.3 for the same data from the same machine.
So lesson learned: At least on a USB 2.0 machine or for small copy jobs you might expect faster service but after the copy rate settles down, on a USB 2.0 machine it may even be a bit slower than the previous model.
Of course once I have access to a USB 3.0 machine or get a USB 3.0 card for my machine, I will be updating my review! Otherwise, I see no drawbacks on this model for anyone who has a USB 2.0 machine looking to "future proof" or otherwise.
A swing and a miss . First the good stuff. This is a nice little portable drive with decent storage capacity. It is powered over the USB bus which means there are less cords and stuff to deal with. So, as a portable drive, this is a good one.
When it comes to the security features, though, it doesn't quite hit the sweet spot because it depends on auto-run, trusting the proprietary software, and the fact that it is obviously an encrypted drive. Also, it doesn't seem to get along real well with Linux.
Two drives appear when you plug the unit into the USB port of a windows machine. One is the drive itself, the other is a pseudo CD drive. The CD drive has an executable program and an "autorun.inf" file. The goal is obviously to have the executable program run automatically when the unit is plugged in. This is a security no-no. Microsoft's autorun provides a fantastic entry point for viruses. Anything you plug in or pop into that CD/DVD tray has immediate low level access to your computer. Most security savvy people turn off autorun to the greatest extent possible.
If you run windows you obviously trust microsoft's proprietary software and probably lots of other software too. This drive, however, is intended for people worried about protecting their data. Those types of people tend to minimize the number of programs and vendors on the "trusted" list. What has iomega done to establish themselves as trustworthy? Does the drive come from a trustworthy manufacturing pipeline? Note: this is why I use TrueCrypt
Drives that are obviously encrypted are usually not a concern, but can make you a target because someone else can probably only get to the data by compromising your person.
Finally, there's the Linux issue. Linux does not autorun things. I always put USB drives into a Linux machine first so I can delete any unwanted gifts like viruses and "valuable" utilities from the manufacturers. I really don't want software installing itself on my computer unless I explicitly approved. I don't think this iomega drive makes that error. Still, I wish I could have vetted the security on my Linux machine.
I gave this drive a single star in the "windows 7 ready" category because of the autorun stuff. If you've read this far then you know that autorun freaks me out.
When it comes to the security features, though, it doesn't quite hit the sweet spot because it depends on auto-run, trusting the proprietary software, and the fact that it is obviously an encrypted drive. Also, it doesn't seem to get along real well with Linux.
Two drives appear when you plug the unit into the USB port of a windows machine. One is the drive itself, the other is a pseudo CD drive. The CD drive has an executable program and an "autorun.inf" file. The goal is obviously to have the executable program run automatically when the unit is plugged in. This is a security no-no. Microsoft's autorun provides a fantastic entry point for viruses. Anything you plug in or pop into that CD/DVD tray has immediate low level access to your computer. Most security savvy people turn off autorun to the greatest extent possible.
If you run windows you obviously trust microsoft's proprietary software and probably lots of other software too. This drive, however, is intended for people worried about protecting their data. Those types of people tend to minimize the number of programs and vendors on the "trusted" list. What has iomega done to establish themselves as trustworthy? Does the drive come from a trustworthy manufacturing pipeline? Note: this is why I use TrueCrypt
Drives that are obviously encrypted are usually not a concern, but can make you a target because someone else can probably only get to the data by compromising your person.
Finally, there's the Linux issue. Linux does not autorun things. I always put USB drives into a Linux machine first so I can delete any unwanted gifts like viruses and "valuable" utilities from the manufacturers. I really don't want software installing itself on my computer unless I explicitly approved. I don't think this iomega drive makes that error. Still, I wish I could have vetted the security on my Linux machine.
I gave this drive a single star in the "windows 7 ready" category because of the autorun stuff. If you've read this far then you know that autorun freaks me out.
Excellent Option For Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive . I own several portable hard drives including Seagate GoFlex, the Western Digitial Essentials portable and Elite drives and now this Iomega Prestige. This Iomega Prestige definitely at the top of the list. It has a sturdy METAL case and a sleek design that is actually marginally smaller than the others. The USB 3.0 interface is extremely fast and backwards compatible with USB 2.0. Overall this is my favorite portable hard drive for its design, speed, and excellent warranty.
'*** Positive Points: ***
- Comes with USB 3.0 interface built in (other drives like the Seagate GoFlex make you purchase an additional kit). It works very well with USB 2.0 also (backwards compatible). The data transfer speeds are on par with other USB 3.0 drives, which is to say they are extremely fast!
- Comes with a two pronged USB cable. You can use one USB port to provide both power and data transfer but on some computers 2 ports are needed because they do not put out enough voltage from each of their USB ports. Its great that Iomega includes this cable in the package (Western Digital provides it for free if you call their customer support center).
- Sleek metal case that actually makes this drive smaller than the Seagate and Western Digital designs.
- Has drop guard protection which allows for small drops without damaging your drive.
- THREE year warranty when most other portable drives have just one. (The exception is the Western Digital ELITE series which has a 5 year warranty).
'
*** Negative Points: ***
- The provided cable is somewhat short (though on par with the competition).
- White LED is bright and fashionable (the other brands also have it) but is more annoying than the older blue LEDs
- Software must be downloaded from the Iomega website. Why not just include a disk and save the consumer the hassle.
'
Overall: This is an excellent portable hard for the money.
'*** Positive Points: ***
- Comes with USB 3.0 interface built in (other drives like the Seagate GoFlex make you purchase an additional kit). It works very well with USB 2.0 also (backwards compatible). The data transfer speeds are on par with other USB 3.0 drives, which is to say they are extremely fast!
- Comes with a two pronged USB cable. You can use one USB port to provide both power and data transfer but on some computers 2 ports are needed because they do not put out enough voltage from each of their USB ports. Its great that Iomega includes this cable in the package (Western Digital provides it for free if you call their customer support center).
- Sleek metal case that actually makes this drive smaller than the Seagate and Western Digital designs.
- Has drop guard protection which allows for small drops without damaging your drive.
- THREE year warranty when most other portable drives have just one. (The exception is the Western Digital ELITE series which has a 5 year warranty).
'
*** Negative Points: ***
- The provided cable is somewhat short (though on par with the competition).
- White LED is bright and fashionable (the other brands also have it) but is more annoying than the older blue LEDs
- Software must be downloaded from the Iomega website. Why not just include a disk and save the consumer the hassle.
'
Overall: This is an excellent portable hard for the money.
Great little drive with a major setback for Windows Users . *****UPDATE 06/10/2011*****
I just tried to use this drive to back up Windows 7 X64 Professional and the update failed multiple times. After researching the error that Windows was generating, I learned that the hard drive included in this drive is a new, ADVANCED FORMAT drive with a sector size of 4096 bytes instead of the previous standard of 512 bytes. Windows back-up and restore doesn't currently support ADVANCED FORMAT drives, meaning this drive is currently USELESS as a back up if you want to make a system image of your Windows machine. This is a major issue, and while I place the blame more on Microsoft than on Iomega since the new sector size will ultimately be the industry standard, it currently creates issues for Windows users for one the PRIMARY uses of an external hard drive: backing up your system.
Windows has released a windows update to address this issue, but it DOES NOT allow Windows to work with ADVANCED FORMAT drives that do not support an emulated version of 512 byte sectors. This Iomega drive DOES NOT support emulation, meaning the Windows update will not allow you to use the drive for backing up Windows.
Due to this limitation, I've lowered my review from 4.5 stars to 3.5 stars.
*****END OF UPDATE****
This Iomega Prestige portable hard drive is excellent. I have owned dozens of portables of all sizes and from many manufacturers, including the big guys like Western Digital and Seagate, and this one stacks up against the best of the best in terms of quality and design.
The first and most noticeable thing is that the drive is TINY. Barely larger than the 2.5" hard drive enclosed inside, Iomega has minimized the size of the enclosure to as small as possible. This makes it ultra portable and as light weight as any enclosure I've encountered.
Aesthetically the drive is excellent. The brushed, anodized aluminum enclosure in matte black is of superior quality. It has a well designed, finished feel that many inferior drives do not. The corners are not rough, and the LED indicator is flush with the drive's exterior, etc... These are small things, but I pay attention to them and appreciate it when they're done right.
The USB 3.0 interface is still being perfected, but I managed to get upwards of 80mb / sec read times and 60-65mb / sec writes. That's still 3-4x faster than USB 2.0, and I expect those speeds to go up a bit as USB drivers are improved in the next year or so. For a small, compact, and well made drive, these read and write speeds are really excellent.
This is an ideal second notebook drive whether you use the USB 3.0 functionality or not (most notebooks made prior to 2010 don't have a USB 3.0 port). It's among the smallest, lightest, and most well built drives I've ever owned. The warranty is only 3yrs (I've seen drives with 5yr warranties) but that's a minor issue considering the speed at which technology moves these days. In three year SSDs will be the new normal and spinning disks will feel like floppy disks (so maybe that's an exaggeration but you get the idea).
Regarding the encryption software on the drive:
When you first connect the drive you will notice that it has two partitions: the main partition formatted with NTFS formatting, and an smaller 700MB partition in CDFS format that contains the encryption software. The CDFS partition CANNOT be removed using standard formatting--you must use the tool provided as part of the encryption software. The version of the software that came on my drive was not up to date; I had to go to the Iomega website and get the newest version that allows for removal of the CDFS partition.
I removed the encryption from my drive because I only plan to use the drive for media files.
Here is how I would score the drive:
Design: 5 Stars
Form factor: 5 Stars
Quality: 5 Stars
Read / Write Speed: 5 Stars
Included software: N/A
Warranty: 4 Stars
Price point: 4 Stars
Suitability for windows backup: 0 Stars
Overall: 3.5 Stars
Recommendation: A nice little drive with good build quality, but you currently (as of June 2011) cannot use it with Windows Backup due to it's 4096 byte sector size. Only buy this drive if A) You need encryption built into your drive AND B) You don't care about backing up your system using Windows Backup and Restore.
I just tried to use this drive to back up Windows 7 X64 Professional and the update failed multiple times. After researching the error that Windows was generating, I learned that the hard drive included in this drive is a new, ADVANCED FORMAT drive with a sector size of 4096 bytes instead of the previous standard of 512 bytes. Windows back-up and restore doesn't currently support ADVANCED FORMAT drives, meaning this drive is currently USELESS as a back up if you want to make a system image of your Windows machine. This is a major issue, and while I place the blame more on Microsoft than on Iomega since the new sector size will ultimately be the industry standard, it currently creates issues for Windows users for one the PRIMARY uses of an external hard drive: backing up your system.
Windows has released a windows update to address this issue, but it DOES NOT allow Windows to work with ADVANCED FORMAT drives that do not support an emulated version of 512 byte sectors. This Iomega drive DOES NOT support emulation, meaning the Windows update will not allow you to use the drive for backing up Windows.
Due to this limitation, I've lowered my review from 4.5 stars to 3.5 stars.
*****END OF UPDATE****
This Iomega Prestige portable hard drive is excellent. I have owned dozens of portables of all sizes and from many manufacturers, including the big guys like Western Digital and Seagate, and this one stacks up against the best of the best in terms of quality and design.
The first and most noticeable thing is that the drive is TINY. Barely larger than the 2.5" hard drive enclosed inside, Iomega has minimized the size of the enclosure to as small as possible. This makes it ultra portable and as light weight as any enclosure I've encountered.
Aesthetically the drive is excellent. The brushed, anodized aluminum enclosure in matte black is of superior quality. It has a well designed, finished feel that many inferior drives do not. The corners are not rough, and the LED indicator is flush with the drive's exterior, etc... These are small things, but I pay attention to them and appreciate it when they're done right.
The USB 3.0 interface is still being perfected, but I managed to get upwards of 80mb / sec read times and 60-65mb / sec writes. That's still 3-4x faster than USB 2.0, and I expect those speeds to go up a bit as USB drivers are improved in the next year or so. For a small, compact, and well made drive, these read and write speeds are really excellent.
This is an ideal second notebook drive whether you use the USB 3.0 functionality or not (most notebooks made prior to 2010 don't have a USB 3.0 port). It's among the smallest, lightest, and most well built drives I've ever owned. The warranty is only 3yrs (I've seen drives with 5yr warranties) but that's a minor issue considering the speed at which technology moves these days. In three year SSDs will be the new normal and spinning disks will feel like floppy disks (so maybe that's an exaggeration but you get the idea).
Regarding the encryption software on the drive:
When you first connect the drive you will notice that it has two partitions: the main partition formatted with NTFS formatting, and an smaller 700MB partition in CDFS format that contains the encryption software. The CDFS partition CANNOT be removed using standard formatting--you must use the tool provided as part of the encryption software. The version of the software that came on my drive was not up to date; I had to go to the Iomega website and get the newest version that allows for removal of the CDFS partition.
I removed the encryption from my drive because I only plan to use the drive for media files.
Here is how I would score the drive:
Design: 5 Stars
Form factor: 5 Stars
Quality: 5 Stars
Read / Write Speed: 5 Stars
Included software: N/A
Warranty: 4 Stars
Price point: 4 Stars
Suitability for windows backup: 0 Stars
Overall: 3.5 Stars
Recommendation: A nice little drive with good build quality, but you currently (as of June 2011) cannot use it with Windows Backup due to it's 4096 byte sector size. Only buy this drive if A) You need encryption built into your drive AND B) You don't care about backing up your system using Windows Backup and Restore.
Every computer user should have one of these . This portable hard drive is very easy to setup and to use. As for being portable, it is a winner on all counts. Stylish I suppose it is. Durable? Feels like it is very durable and able to take a hit or two. Only one complaint a cover or a slipcase would have been nice. Having the owner's manual online or as a download is a welcome touch. 500GB. I think should be plenty of memory for my needs for now. On the whole I find this an impressive item.
Sylish durable casing fast portable drive. . Case made of real aluminum not plastic and has a easy to grip textured grain. It feels solid and durable compared to the plastic case of my Samsung S2. The iomega seems faster when accessing and loading files compared to the Samsung even though I currently use this drive with USB 2.0 ports. Iomega's website states this drive has a 8 MB cache. The included USB 3.0 cable works with USB 2.0 ports but is a little sensitive to movement while connected.
Iomega Encryption Utility Issue (CDFS) . So far so good with my 750 GB (698.5 GiB) unity. I don't give 5 stars because the CDFS associated to the Iomega Encryption Utility, that gave a headache to remove it. In the end, it was easy! I downloaded the program iomega-encryption-windows from the iomega site, and after install it, unplugged and plugged the drive, and followed the iomega-encryption-windows interface to remove the CDFS partition.
Iomega Prestige 500 GB Hard Drive . The Iomega is a sturdy and reliable external hard drive that delivers consistent speed for a good price. I began to use the device as my internal hard drive grew closer and closer to being full, and was at first worried about the setbacks imposed by using an external HD over an internal to store data. However, the Iomega proved to be perfectly as capable as my internal of running any program handed to it. Even though I was unable to utilize the USB 3.0 hookups, it still performed perfectly fine in high stress situations. I used the external hard drive to make digital backups to DVDs and other media that I own, and even without full utilization of the Iomega's capabilities I experienced no slowdowns during playback. Video games installed to the device also ran without any more trouble than an internal hard drive. Due to a limitation imposed by the USB cable, the hard drive requires 2 USB ports to be plugged in at once to draw adequate power, which can be a problem if you're short on ports. Regardless, this was the only flaw that I found in the Iomega's design, which I would list as the device's only con. Highly recommended for anyone running out of space.
Product Image
Feature Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 3.0/USB 2.0 SuperSpeed Portable Hard Drive 35303
- Fast - With USB 3.0 you can save your media to your portable storage in a fraction of the time! Requires USB 3.0 computer for best performance
- Easy-to-use - Backward compatible to USB 2.0 using the same USB cable so no worries if you don't have a USB 3.0 computer yet
- Durable - Sturdy metal construction; Drop Shock technology on all models
- Secure - AES 256-bit hardware encryption is built-in so you can feel confident taking your drive anywhere
- Warranty - 3 year limited warranty with product registration
Related Post
- Seagate 100 GB 3.5-inch USB 2.0 External Hard Drive ( ST3100203U2-RK )
- Buffalo Technology MiniStation Plus 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard
Drive with Shock Protection HD-PNT1.0U3BS (Silver) - Western Digital My Book Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard
Drive
Product Details
EAN : 0742709353031UPC : 742709353031
MPN : 35303
Brand : Iomega
Color : 500GB
Weight : 1 pounds
Height : 3 inches
Length : 7 inches
Width : 5 inches
Binding : Personal Computers
Manufacturer : Iomega
Model : 35303
Publisher : Iomega
SKU : DH35303
Studio : Iomega
Where To Buy
You can buy Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 3.0/USB 2.0 SuperSpeed Portable Hard Drive 35303 on Amazon . Click here to Read More
