CES 2009

LAS VEGAS--Iomega, which, with its Zip drive, once practically had the monopoly on portable storage, now has plenty of competition. But it's not sitting still.

At the Consumer Electronics Show here, Iomega showed off a network-attached hard drive that sells for $159 for a 500GB version, or $229 for a one terabyte version. Once attached to a home router, the network drive can be accessed by PCs, Macs, PlayStation 3s, and Xbox 360s. In addition to regular data, it can, of course, store media files that can be played by any of those devices.

Iomega's Bill Hansen talks about the drive with Larry Magid in this podcast.

See our complete news coverage from CES here

LAS VEGAS--Network-attached storage for the home has been around for a while. It typically consists of an external disk drive surrounded by technology to connect it to a router so it can be accessed anywhere on your network or, via the Internet, from anywhere in the world. At the Consumer Electronics Show here, Daniel Putterman of Cloud Engines showed off a new device that allows you to inexpensively turn any external drive into a network-attached drive.

The $79 Pogoplug is a small plastic box with an Ethernet plug for your router and a USB plug for an external drive. With it, you can access files anywhere in the home or, through a password protected Web site, anywhere in the world. You can also use the device to share files with others.

See our complete news coverage from CES here

At this year's CES, Victorinox announced the newest member of its team, the Presentation Pro. This convenient business tool is small enough to slip into your pocket or onto your keychain, but don't be fooled by its mini size--this thing has every gadget you'll need to give a business slide show presentation.

Along with the typical array of scissors and knives that have made Victorinox a household name, the Presentation Pro also builds in a USB thumbdrive with up to 32GB capacity, a precision laser pointer, and even a biometric fingerprint scanner with compartmentalized data storage for multiple user access. Best of all, the USB key implements a small Bluetooth remote control that connects to your laptop and lets you easily change slides and deliver an all-around effective presentation.

Victorinox also offers the Presentation Pro Flight, which includes all of the tech features as the original, but forgoes the blades to permit the user to carry the tool on an airplane with no security hazards. Both versions will arrive in stores in this spring, although there's no word yet on the price.

This year's CES saw the release of Iomega's Home Media Network Drive, a new addition to their line of external storage devices, joining the ranks of similar devices like the Iomega StorCenter and the Iomega StorCenter ix2, but with a few simple changes. First, the drives now come with an easy setup that lets users get up and running sharing media across a network in three easy steps: plug in the drive, power on, and install the included EMC LifeLine Home software that runs on the Linux operating system to contributes to the snag-free process.

Other features of the Iomega Home Media Network Drive include gigabit Ethernet transfer speeds, a single USB port for sharing a printer over the network, and instant backup software courtesy of the MozyHome online service included in the box. Both 500GB ($160) and 1TB ($230) drives are set to roll into stores in early January.

We're noticing more and more solid-state drives enter the mainstream market; the Intel X-25M drive's blazing fast transfer speed and completely unaffordable price tag felt bittersweet, but the prices aren't quite as bad for lesser quality drives like the Patriot Warp V.2. SSDs are popping up more often in the world of Netbooks, but we rarely see standalone external SSD.

Luckily, G-Technology made good use of this year's Macworld Expo by introducing a new family of external solid-state hard drives. Both the G-Drive mini SSD and the RAID 0/1 G-RAID mini SSD use 2.5-inch internal SSDs that benefit from higher performance scores, vastly increased durability, less power consumption, and an overall quieter operation. The new drives are ready to use with Macs right out of the box thanks to the HFS+ preformatting, and since SSDs lack moving parts, on-the-go data mongers can easily throw the drives in their equipment bag without fear of destruction.

The G-Drive mini is available in up to 250GB capacities, and users have the option of connecting to their computers via FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0. The drive is powered by the USB bus as well, so no external power is required to access your data. Finally, G-Technology reports a 60 megabytes per second write speed and 75 megabytes per second read speed. Thankfully, both drives are available now and come with a three-year manufacturer's warranty, and prices for each start at $599 for the mini and $1,299 for the G-Raid mini.

The widespread proliferation of sensitive data via USB thumbdrives demands a need for data encryption, and SanDisk is stepping up to bat. Their newest Ultra Backup USB flash drive uses both password protection and 256-bit AES hardware encryption to reduce holes in vulnerability across the board.

Sandisk's entire line of USB flash drives, including their Cruzer series, is also getting a much-deserved makeover. The new designs use a capless design and have a convenient LED that glows amber while the drive is in use. In addition, all the drives will continue to use U3 Smart technology that lets users run software applications directly off the key without any extra fussy drivers.

The Ultra Backup USB drive is offered in a range of capacities from 8GB ($40) to 64GB ($200) and will be available in Spring 2009.

Western Digital used this year's Macworld Expo to add two new products to its line of storage devices. The new My Passport and My Book drives are both preformatted for Mac's HFS+ Journaled, allowing Mac users to take quick advantage of their plug-and-play design. Per usual, the drives get a ding right off the bat for their lack of FireWire, a feature that the Mac community demands for quick access to large format images and video. Both drives are available for purchase now, check out the details below:

The My Passport for Mac is similar to the My Passport Studio we reviewed in mid 2008. The external HD works with the Apple Time Machine hardware to schedule automatic backups and features an external shock-resistant body to resist the abuse of daily carry. The drive is entirely powered through the USB bus, but older computers with low-powered USB ports are out of luck. We're disappointed that Western Digital didn't include the option for external power, as the folks over at Iomega did. Unfortunately, hardcore editors are also at a loss, as the drive still doesn't have a FireWire port. The drives are available in 320GB ($130) and 500GB ($180) capacities, which averages to about $0.40 per gigabyte, one of the lowest figures out of most external hard drives on the market today.

The My Book Mac Edition is for users that need extra storage at home. Western Digital brags about its efforts to clean up our planet by utilizing "Green Power" technology that works with your computer to minimize the power that funnels into the drive. The enclosure also cuts down on noise and power consumption by eliminating an internal fan, and a fully recyclable package design fills out the eco-friendly initiative. Compared to the My Passport's impressive three-year warranty, the My Book's one-year seems puny, and we're anxious to test the longevity of the device. Western Digital offers the 1TB My Book for $180.

(Credit: Toshiba)

One of the many laptops being announced at CES this week is the Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q725. It will offer the same bells and whistles of recent X305s, except that its primary drive will consist of a 64GB solid state drive, while the secondary drive will be the standard spindle-based 320GB SATA hard disk drive. This hybrid solution will not only boost performance on an already beast of a machine but will also help with its typically lackluster battery life--as with most gaming laptops--not by much, but it's something.

Here's a quick look at the specifications:

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 2GHz
• 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
• Primary drive: 64GB Serial ATA SSD
• Secondary drive: 320GB (7200 RPM) SATA HDD
• Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)
• NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX, 1GB GDDR3 discrete graphics
• Data: USB v2.0--four ports with USB Sleep and Charge (1 x eSATA/USB combo port)

The Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q725 will be available at launch on January 6 and will retail for $2,699 at Toshiba's Web site.