Iomega Predator USB CD-RW

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. The Package
3. Data Tests
4. RW reading tests
5. DAE Tests
6. CDR Tests
7. RW Writing Tests
8. Conclusion

Iomega Predator USB CDR-W - Page 8

Conclusion

Positive (+):	Negative (-):
- Portable USB drive - Truly Plug 'n' Play device - Great software installation utility - Supports 2MB of buffer - Good CloneCD reading performance - Supports DAO-RAW - Can backup SecuROM2 protected CDs - Can backup SD2 protected CDs!!!! - Supports reading of SubChannel data - Good packet writing performance (for 4x recorder)	- No anti-coaster technology - USB limits the funtions of the drive to 6x (max) - Doesn't support reading/writing of 96bytes of SubChannel data - DAE ripping quality suffers... - Problems with certain pressed audio cds - Doesn't support overburning - Doesn't support reading/writing 90/99min CDs - High Price ($220+)

The Iomega Predator defines a new way of portability - not the usual Jazz or Zip one, but the CD/ CDRW way. It is certainly not a great performer, but we think it is a fair value-for-money proposition. Even though it's great design and USB features will affect some users, there are more players in the portable recording playground. For instance the Yamaha 16x10x40 firewire CDRW which is a lot faster, but uses the IEEE1394 protocol instead of the USB one. One other thing that a user should consider, is certainly the ability of the drive to make working SD2 backups! This (and this only) is one reason I'd wanted a drive like this connected to my PC !

You must ask yourself if you really want the features (and the portability) that the Iomega Predator has to offer. If you are the person who is mostly on the road - consider buying it. On the other hand, the competition, already has to offer SimlessLink and 6x writing. The choice is yours, as always...