Iomega Zip 250 USB

On first sight we found it hard to believe that the slimline Iomega, with its sexy transparent blue cover, was actually capable of holding, let alone using, 250Mb Zip disks, given that the drive is just 2cm thick and the size of a small paperback book.

Iomega promises data transfer rates of 0.9Mb/sec, not bad when you consider the 250Mb SCSI version scores only marginally better at about 1Mb/sec. Although manufacturers' claims often prove optimistic, this drive proved a capable performer in our tests, taking just one and a half minutes to copy 50Mb of data.

As it weighs less than a kilogram the Zip 250 USB is particularly suited for use with a notebook. And because the optional PC Card adaptor draws its power from the notebook's batteries, you don't need to carry the power supply unit around with you.

The unit is compatible with 100Mb and 250Mb Zip disks, although a 100Mb drive can't read a 250Mb disk.

For less than £150 this Zip drive is great value for money. Our only quibble is that although one of the advantages of USB is the ability to hot-swap peripherals, unplugging a USB device daisy-chained to the Zip 250 will result in data loss if you're writing to and from the drive.

But if ever there was a reason for jumping on the USB bandwagon, this is it, as Iomega says a similarly sleek parallel port drive is unlikely. Although the 250Mb parallel port Zip drive works well, it's just not as good-looking as the USB drive.

Contact Iomega 0800 973194

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