Crave

(Credit: Iomega)

It's back-to-school time, and this is something students might get to use without having to pay for.

Iomega announced Thursday the worldwide availability of the quad-drive desktop NAS server, the Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d. EMC, the parent company of Iomega, simultaneously announced that as part of its Academic Alliance Program which has the participation of more than 300 universities and colleges around the world, each school will score a StorCenter ix4-200d NAS appliance.

The new NAS server--which is geared toward small businesses and home office environments--can support four SATA hard drives of up to 2TB each, making the combined storage amount up to 8TB. It supports RAID 5 and RAID 10 (a combination of RAID 1 and RAID 0) as well as JBOD and is said to be so easy to use you can get it up and running via a few mouse clicks.

Other features of the NAS server include:

The Triple Interface Iomega eGo has FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and USB 2.0 ports.

(Credit: Iomega)

Last month we reported on Iomega's new line of eGo external hard drives. Today, the company sweetens the deal with an even more versatile device: a portable hard drive with FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and USB 2.0 ports for the ultimate in cross-compatibility.

Iomega dropped by CNET's offices last week to hand over a test drive, and although we haven't put it through our labs benchmark tests yet, the eGo track record is good enough to assume that this device will earn good marks. The drives are delivered in HFS+ for out-of-the-box Mac compatibility, but you can format them for Windows as well.

The Mac-friendly design.

(Credit: Iomega)

Like most of the eGo drives, this triple interface model features Iomega's DropGuard technology that protects it from drops up to 51 inches, which is important if you're carrying around your crucial data.

In addition, the company protects your data with three layers of software protection: a full version of Iomega Quikprotect backup, EMC Retrospect Express, and a free lifetime subscription to MozyHome Online backup (2GB per month).

The 250GB, 320GB, and 500GB Triple Interface eGo Portable Hard Drive from Iomega are available now for $100, $110, and $150, respectively. Look for a full review on CNET.com coming soon.

The new midnight blue eGo portable hard drive from Iomega.

(Credit: Iomega)

If you're impressed by the previous generation of Iomega's eGo external hard drive, you'll probably like this one better.

Iomega announced Monday the worldwide availability of its new generation of eGo portable hard drives that feature a new look, up to 500GB of storage, and multiple colors including ruby red, sparkling silver, midnight blue, and black.

All of the models have USB 2.0 and are bus-powered, meaning you only need to carry a single cable that works as both the data and power cord. The included cable is a Y-shape USB cable that lets you use two USB ports at a time for machines that can't power the drive from a single USB port.

These hard drives come in an anodized aluminum case that's a little more than half an inch thick and weighs less than 7 ounces. They sport Iomega's Drop Guard feature that protects data on the drives from drops of up to 51 inches, according to Iomega.

The Iomega eGo BlackBelt has even more impressive drop protection and comes with a black eGo Power grip belt and Drop Guard Xtreme that protects against drops from up to 7 feet.

All of these drives also come with backup software for Windows and Macs and have three-year warranties. Apart from the Iomega BlackBelt that's available in June, the rest of the new eGo portable hard drives are available immediately.

Prices vary depending on the capacity. The drives start at $85 for a 250GB version, and the 500GB BlackBelt model is $149.

The new update interface of the StorCenter ix2 NAS server.

(Credit: Iomega)

I reviewed Iomega's StorCenter ix2 NAS server four months ago and complained that it didn't offer any remote-access solutions. Now that has changed.

Iomega continues to impress us with its sexy, sleek external hard drives. We just recently reviewed the eGo Helium, a drive catered to Apple fanboys. There's also the eGo Camo that's useful for secretly accessing your data in the forest, and the eGo Brown Leather that makes a perfect present for your friendly neighborhood alcoholic. This time, they're introducing two new drives to their eGo line. Check 'em out!

This is the eGo Encrypt. It actually bears a striking resemblance to the eGo Helium, with its silver case and clean lines, but this one is a little thicker and is NTFS formatted out of the box. This one also bumps the security up a notch using government grade 128-bit encryption to protect the data inside. In addition, if the drive is disconnected from a computer while in use, the drive will automatically lock itself and require a predesignated password to access it again.

It also comes with a clear version of the Drop Guard Xtreme band that we first saw on the eGo Camo. You can take it on and off, but we recommend you keep it on just in case you happen to drive it from seven feet up- it'll keep the drive protected. Plus, what're you going to do with a loose rubber band? It's 320GB for $150--a little more than the eGo Helium, but still an excellent deal at $0.47 per gigabyte.

This one looks even more familiar than the Encrypt. The eGO BlackBelt portable hard drive is the same drive as the eGo Camo, but...it's black. So if you have enough disruptive pattern material in your house and just need a simple, secure drive, the BlackBelt is your go-to guy. Again, it includes the Drop Guard Xtreme, so feel free to use it to protect yourself against would-be assailants. This one is 250GB for $120, which factors out to a cool $0.48 per gigabyte.

We'll be getting both drives into our labs before the holiday break, so look out for a full length review coming soon!

(Credit: CNET)

The eGo Helium drive from Iomega really loves your MacBook Air and would like to respectfully ask for its hand in marriage.

You see, the two were virtually cut from the same cloth and share an uncanny amount of similarities. From their subtle gray chassis (off topic: what's the plural of chassis? Yep, chassis) and their finely shaped edges to their proprietary file formatting system (HFS+), they're so in touch with each other that $143 seems like chump change to pay for the wedding.

The only thing missing in your MacBook's life is just a little extra space, and the eGo Helium drive is ready to provide her with 320 gigabytes of pure storage love. If ever there were a reason for these two not to be joined in the chains of marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Ahem, we've got one or two--check out our full review of the Iomega eGo Helium for more details.

WD TV Media Player retails for $129.99.

(Credit: Western Digital)

Western Digital has entered the media player fray with its $129.99 WD TV Media Player. The player, which reads a variety of audio, photo, and video files, is designed to be paired with a portable hard drive that's loaded with media files. Naturally, Western Digital would prefer if you purchased one of its My Passport drives, but you can connect any USB mass storage device to the WD TV Media Player.

The little black box comes with a remote and connects to your TV via HDMI or standard composite AV cables. The release says: "Users leave the WD TV HD Media Player connected to their TVs and simply plug in up to two My Passport USB drives or other USB mass storage devices loaded with HD media. Using the included remote control, they can navigate and play their content with the media player's high-definition on-screen menu. With My Passport drives now available in 500GB capacities, users can build large collections on multiple drives, all playable by WD TV."

Western Digital assumes you obtained all your media files legally, but the WD TV Media Player appears to be rather inclusive in the types of files it reads. The device also ships with ArcSoft's MediaConverter 2.5, which converts photo, video, and music files into formats optimized for use on the WD TV HD Media Player. According to Western Digital, the player supports full HD video playback--up to 1080p--via HDMI.

Here's the list of supported file formats:

Video:
MPEG1/2/4, WMV9, AVI (MPEG4, Xvid, AVC), H.264, MKV, MOV (MPEG4, H.264), Subtitle SRT (UTF-8)

Photo:
JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG

Audio:
MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV/PCM/LPCM, AAC, FLAC, Dolby Digital, AIF/AIFF, MKA Playlist PLS, M3U, WPL

We should be receiving a review sample soon and will let you know how this compares with similar products, such as Iomega's ScreenPlay TV link, which retails for just under $100. Anybody think this is a better option than Apple TV?

Video navigation screen.

(Credit: Western Digital)