Iomega Zip 100

Iomega's Zip drive has been around for a few years now, but every six months or so it manages to come up with a new version that's a different shape, colour or capacity. It's a not-terribly subtle way of getting some extra marketing mileage out of what is essentially the same product.

Even so, a Zip drive is still a very useful gadget. It's a kind of super-floppy disk drive. But instead of using ordinary floppy disks, which have a storage capacity of only 1.4Mb, a Zip drive uses high-capacity Zip disks, which can store either 100Mb or 250Mb of data, depending on which version of the drive you buy.

It's very handy for storing backups of important work files, video clips, MP3 songs or any other type of data you want to keep safe.

The 250Mb version of the Zip drive hasn't been changed for a while, but the 100Mb version has recently been subject to another redesign. This time, Iomega has decided to release two different versions of the same drive.

Black and blue

We can't see any real reason for doing this, as both 100Mb drives function in exactly the same fashion. The only differences are in the styling and the price tag. One of them is thin and blue and the other one is a bit fatter and coloured black.

Given the choice, we'd probably opt for the more streamlined blue model, as the black one does look rather lumpy and unappealing. The blue model is £20 dearer though, costing £90 compared with the black drive's £70, so users on a budget who care little for style should opt for the cheaper model.

After a good look over the two devices, we concluded that the differences really are only skin deep. Both models have the same 100Mb storage capacity, and their USB interface provides the same data transfer rate - a 3Mb MP3 file takes about four seconds to copy to a disk.

Power from the PC

However, these two new drives do provide one useful feature that wasn't available in the previous 100Mb Zip drive. They can now draw their power supply directly from the PC via the USB cable, so you no longer need the separate power supply that was provided with the previous model.

This has been the case for a while with the more expensive Zip 250 models, but it is nice to see the feature creep into the budget line-up.

Software

The drives are also supplied with two bits of useful software. The Iomegaware program includes options for formatting disks and setting options such as write-protecting your data so you don't accidentally delete crucial information. There's also a handy program called Floppy Copy that helps you to transfer files from ordinary floppy disks onto a Zip disk.

Zero zip disks

It's a bit disappointing to see that Iomega doesn't bother to include any Zip disks with either of the drives. The idea, obviously, is to try and get you to fork out for a six-pack or 10-pack of disks, but it still seems a bit tight-fisted not to include even one to get you started.

A single 100Mb Zip disk will cost you about £10, with 6-packs and 10-packs costing £45 and £75 respectively, so you need to take the additional cost of these costly consumables into account when buying.

Conclusion

Both these drives are as good as Zip drives have always been for backing up and transferring files. If you're on a tight budget, the chunkier black drive represents fantastic value for money.

If you can afford a little extra though, we'd recommend going for the 250Mb version, which costs about £180 but offers useful extra capacity and can still use 100Mb drives.

Whichever you choose, anyone who needs to move files or back-up data simply and reliably should have a Zip on their desk.

Price
Blue £90; Black £70

Contact
Iomega: 01628 822 4444 www.iomega.com

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Computeractive, Issue 83