Though supporting both Windows and Mac machines, the UltraMax and MiniMax product lines from Iomega are targeted primarily to Mac users. Models in the line are available to specifically match the styling of Mac machines, and additionally the vendor has announced that many of the drives will now be pre-formatted with the Mac HFS+ file system; making them drop-in compatible with the Time Machine feature of Leopard.

The drives each feature some combination of eSATA, USB, and FireWire (400/800) interfaces (the available interfaces vary by model, see below), with the top of the line UltraMax offerings (also called UltraMax Pro by the vendor) including dual drives and supporting RAID 0 or 1-based data protection. Backup software (typically EMC Retrospect or Retrospect Express) is included with each purchase, as are USB, FireWire, and/or ESATA cables, as appropriate.

Individual offerings in the product family currently include:

- The UltraMax Pro drives (the high-end UltraMax drives), dual, hot-swappable SATA II drive offerings with the ability to operate in RAID 0, RAID 1, or no RAID (JBOD) configurations. The UltraMax Pro line is served in capacities up to 1.5 TB and is styled to complement the Mac Pro series and older Power Macs. The UltraMax Pro is available with dual FireWire 800 ports, a single FireWire 400 port, and a single USB 2.0 port.

An eSATA/USB flavored version of the UltraMax Pro is also listed as available on the vendor's Web site, which is pre-formatted as FAT32.

- The UltraMax drives are designed like the UltraMax Pro, but are single drive offerings available in 500 or 750 GB capacities. Interface options include eSATA, dual FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0 (each drive includes all the interface options). A separate offering includes only dual FireWire 400 ports and a USB 2.0 port with a 500 GB capacity.

- The MiniMax line is physically designed in a stackable format to visually complement the Apple Mac Mini. It's offered in 500 and 750 GB flavors, and includes both a 3 port USB 2.0 and a 3 port FireWire 400 hub (a separate 500 GB version includes only the USB hub).

All of the drives are available now. Pricing ranges from $179.95 (MiniMax 500 GB with USB 2.0), to $599.95 (UltraMax Pro with 1.5 TB and FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0 ports). The eSATA/USB 2.0 flavor of the UltraMax Pro is also priced at $599.95.

Visit the Iomega Web site for further information.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

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