Portable, slim-line storage that's truly clutter free.

The Silver Portable 80GB Dual is a cleanly designed portable hard drive that has everything you need from a compact drive. Its aluminum enclosure is minimalist - barely larger than the 2.5-inch 80GB laptop hard disk it sheathes. The drive is almost silent and is powered either via the USB or FireWire ports.

Iomega packages the drive with both FireWire and USB cables. Yay! The USB cable also features a second USB connector to provide extra power for the drive, because on some laptops, and with some USB cards, the power provided by one USB port isn't sufficient. The drive also features a 5V DC power connector, but no power supply - you'll need to supply your own, though the drive works fine powered by the USB ports and FireWire ports, so this isn't a necessity.

We tested the device using both FireWire and USB 2.0 and discovered its performance to be typical of most portable hard drives. Via USB 2.0, read performance averaged 14.88MB per second, with write speeds slightly higher at 15.62MB per second. As usual, FireWire performance was faster, with typical read speeds of 27.9MB per second and write speeds of 27.8MB per second. The aluminum case keeps the drive cool, too - it didn't feel warm to the touch.

Instructions for use are provided, along with a CD that has a full copy of Retrospect Express 6.1 backup software. Retrospect may not be the most intuitive software around, but it is reliable - its inclusion is a welcome addition to this reasonably priced portable drive.

The bottom line. The Silver Portable 80GB Dual has a lot to offer in its little package.

COMPANY: Iomega
CONTACT: 888-516-8467, www.iomega.com
PRICE: $149.95
REQUIREMENTS: FireWire 400 or USB
Compact design. Runs cool and quiet.
Pricey. USB 2.0 should be faster.