Iomega Introduces External RAID Storage for Apple's Mac OS X Computers

Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Iomega Corporation today announced the new Iomega UltraMax 640GB Desktop Hard Drive, providing Mac users with secure, high-capacity storage in a rugged enclosure that complements the Apple Mac Pro and Power Mac series of computers. With RAID 0 and a built-in Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) hub for future expansion, Iomega's UltraMax drive helps users excel in digital content creation, graphic design, and other disk-intensive tasks.

"The new Iomega UltraMax Desktop Hard Drive is an amazing external hard drive with lots of capacity, flexible volume configurations, and useful USB 2.0 ports," said Peter Wharton, Vice President of Marketing, Iomega Corporation. "Large file transfers put a premium on data throughput. The UltraMax drive uses the Mac HFS+ file system and RAID 0 for incredible power right out of the box, striping data across two hard drives for faster performance. The UltraMax is both functional and versatile -- the kind of advanced storage solution our customers expect from Iomega."

In addition to the default mode of RAID 0, which stripes data across the UltraMax's two 7200-RPM SATA hard drives, other drive settings include 'spanned' (both hard drives are treated as a single volume), and 'simple' (each hard drive is treated as its own drive letter). For ease of use, the new Iomega UltraMax Desktop Hard Drive has a manual RAID switch, allowing the user to turn off the RAID configuration and use the drive configured as JBOD.

The Iomega UltraMax Hard Drive is preformatted with Apple's HFS+ file system for Mac OS X users. "HFS+ makes more efficient use of large hard drives and supports journaling under Mac OS X, which makes it easier to recover data in case of a problem, and that makes the UltraMax the no-compromise choice for Mac environments," Wharton added.

PC users can reformat the Iomega UltraMax Drive to NTFS for use with Windows, or can set up cross-platform use with an included FAT32 format tool.

The stackable UltraMax drive enclosure complements the new Mac Pro series of Apple computers as well as the older Power Mac series. The enclosure is metallic grey with a mesh grill, an echo of the Mac Pro computer's industrial design. Its three interfaces include FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0), and it provides users with a three-port Hi-Speed USB hub for easy expansion. Cables for FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0 operation are included with the drive.

For secure storage and worry-free backup and disaster recovery, Iomega also includes EMC Retrospect Express software with the new UltraMax drive. Retrospect Express delivers automated, reliable, cost-effective protection for Windows and Mac users. Its award-winning design makes it easy to set up and manage highly efficient backups on any PC, greatly simplifying disaster recovery. Users can back up open files, verify backup integrity during the backup, have scheduled backups proceed even without logging in, and recover individual files or a complete system to any point in time.

Compatibility
The UltraMax 640GB Desktop Hard Drive is compatible with Mac OS X 10.1 or above on Apple computers with an Intel processor or G3 processor or higher and a built-in USB or FireWire connection. The UltraMax Drive can be reformatted to NTFS or FAT32 for use with a PC (instructions included), making it compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP Home and XP Professional editions. FAT32 format allows cross-platform use.

Price and Availability
The Iomega UltraMax 640GB Desktop Hard Drive is expected to be available later this month for $449.95 (U.S. suggested retail). More information about the Iomega UltraMax 640GB Desktop Hard Drive will be available on Monday, Sept. 11, at www.iomega.com.

SOURCE Iomega Corporation