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Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive: Big storage, high-powered charging ports

by Steven Sande Aug 2nd 2011 at 9:00AM

Iomega has just introduced the new Mac Companion Hard Drive, a 2 or 3 TB external drive that not only offers a lot of storage in a nice-looking container, but also provides a high-powered USB port to charge up your iPad.

The Mac Companion is priced a bit higher than high-capacity USB external drives, with the 2 TB model weighing in at US$195.00 and the 3 TB model at $295.00. However, the manufacturer's suggested retail price is right in line with many other FireWire 800 drives, and the Mac Companion can connect through FireWire 800 as well as USB 2.0.

The Mac Companion also fills the job of a hub. It not only has a 2.1 Amp USB charging port for your iPad, but two more USB ports in a built-in hub and two FireWire 800 ports. Iomega provides cables to get your Mac and the Mac Companion working together off the bat -- one FireWire 800 cable, one conversion FireWire 400-800 cable, and one USB 2.0 cable.

When placed near just about any modern Mac, the Mac Companion fits right in. The aluminum case has four LEDs on the front to let you know how much free space you have left on the drive. Iomega provides software to enable scheduled file-level backups, although most Mac users will want to use the Mac Companion with Time Machine. Iomega also provides a free 2 GB online backup through MozyHome for extra assurance.

TUAW is hoping to get one of the Mac Companion Hard Drives for a full review, so stay tuned for more details.



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Iomega has just introduced the new Mac Companion Hard Drive, a 2 or 3 TB external drive that not only offers a lot of storage in a...
 

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22 Comments

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Arifur Rahman

Wow! really big storage. Hope it may be in comfortable price.
Regards,
http://www.clippingdesign.com/services/clipping-path-services.php

August 03 2011 at 7:10 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
neonnocturne

I'm wondering if this will stack under the new Mac Mini's like Iomega's similarly styled external HDD that came out a year or two ago.

August 02 2011 at 6:08 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Douglas Gottlieb

I'd be interested in a Thunderbolt version

August 02 2011 at 5:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
laurion

Reminds me of NewerTechnology's miniStack, which also has the advantage of letting you buy the empty case and put in your own drive. Not sure it provides the full power to charge an iPad though.

August 02 2011 at 12:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ME and ME

too expensive. and where's thunderbolt support?

man, they used to be innovators, but now Iomega struggles to catch up...

August 02 2011 at 11:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ME and ME

too expensive.

August 02 2011 at 11:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jeff Naylor

That figures, I bought an Iomega drive yesterday for Time Machine. I haven't even gotten it yet.

August 02 2011 at 10:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nick S

I like the concept, and it looks like it would stack decently with my late-2008 Mac Mini, but it kind of stinks that I seemingly have to choose between FW800's speed *or* using the USB charging port... I wonder if there's a way to just do USB pass-through for the hub & charging and use FW for the external drive itself?

August 02 2011 at 10:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mack Wong

Hmm... can I charge my iPad when my computer is powered off?

I just want a hub that could charge my devices even if my computer is powered off...

August 02 2011 at 10:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
clasqm

"Click of Death"? Come on, that was twenty years ago!

August 02 2011 at 10:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to clasqm's comment
Mark

Might want to read up on hard drives and failure rates. Everyone has this issue, and SSD seems even worse. Plenty of reviews at the usual tech sales websites. No one is immune.

August 02 2011 at 11:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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