NEWS • NOVEMBER 8 , 2000
Iomega To Ship USB 2.0 CD-RW
8x4x32 drive due out in January

by David Nagel
Executive Producer
dnagel@digitalmedianet.com

A number of companies have chimed in with support for USB 2.0 for the Mac over the last few weeks, including Belkin with a PCI card offering USB 2.0 ports that are backward compatible with the current USB 1.1 standard. The latest offering comes from Iomega, promising a CD-RW drive that supports USB 2.0 and 1.1.

The new drive, the Predator, an external 8x write, 4x rewrite, 32x read device, offers interchangeable interfaces and lets users swap out between USB 1.1, FireWire, PCMCIA and USB 2.0. The first version of the drive, set for a JJanuary release, will only offer USB 1.1. The other options will be added later in the year, with a FireWire configuration showing up in the first quarter for $80 more.

Iomega says the drive and its software bundle will be compatible with Macintosh. It will sport a new, low-profile design that exchanges the traditional front-loading tray for a top-loading concept similar to portable audio CD players.

The software suite includes Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4.0, Adaptec DirectCD 3.0, Adaptec Toast, MusicMatch Jukebox Plus, MGI PhotoSuite, Iomega Quik Sync 2 software (30-day Trial Version) and Adobe ActiveShare software. Also included in the package are two CD-R discs and one pre-formatted CD-RW disc, audio cables, data cable and an external power supply. The Iomega Predator external CD-RW drive in USB 1.1 configuration is expected in stores in January for $269.95. The Predator drive with FireWire support will be available in stores in the first quarter of 2001 for $349.95.

For more information, visit http://www.iomega.com.

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