Iomega Corp. today announced the release of a new a FireWire-based Peerless drive storage system that’s compatible with both Mac and Windows computers. This new bundle joins a USB 1.1-based system released this past May and a Mac-only FireWire-based Peerless system released in July.
Iomega’s Peerless systems are pocket-sized 10GB and 20GB hard disk drives that feature a reliable, sealed disk design and interchangeable interface modules. Iomega said that the new FireWire interface provides sustained transfer rates of up to 15MB per second. The FireWire interface module can also be swapped for a USB interface module.
Iomega Corp. president and CEO Werner Heid said the Peerless drive has various uses, like digital video and other high-bandwidth streaming applications, or applications where it’s important to be able to use the drive both on PCs and Macs, and on different interfaces.
“The speed, capacity and modular design of Peerless make it one of the most versatile storage solutions on the market today,” said Heid.
In addition to the swappable interface, Peerless drives sport electronics in a base station. As your storage capacity needs grow, you can just buy another disk sans electronics. This results in a lower cost for expansion, according to Iomega, since the drive’s electronics need only be purchased once.
The FireWire-based Peerless drive is available for Mac and Windows systems with a suggested retail price of US$359 for the 10GB bundle or $399 for the 20GB bundle. It is compatible with Mac OS 8.6 – 9.x; Iomega said that Mac OS 10.x certification is in progress.