Digital Home Thoughts: Portable Storage: IOGEAR's 20 GB COMBO 1.8" ION Drive

Plug-O-Rama


Figure 5: Ports, plugs, and switches on the top of the drive.

Mac users rejoice (and PC users too), the Combo ION drive not only has USB, but also Firewire connectivity. I did have a little trouble with the Firewire port on the review unit I received. After a few uses, the entire port section would shift backwards, and I would have to get a pair of pliers out to bring them back to flush. It would, thankfully, be something that would normally be covered by the standard 3 year warranty.


Figure 6: The wall-wart and USB/PS2 power adapters.

Furthering the portability of the ION (although you couldn't really tell from their marketing materials or manuals), is the inclusion of both a wall-wart and USB/PS2 power adapter. This means that you can leave the wall-wart plugged in, say, at home or work, and then travel with the USB/PS2 adapter to any other location. This also gives you the means to power the drive even when you are in a location that wouldn't normally provide power (say an airline).


Figure 7: The included six foot USB and Firewire cables.

Of course, the fact that you need to use multiple cables does make cable management a bit of a mess (even with the included "cable bag" which can barely fit the USB cable let along much else). And if I didn't have a PS2 port on my laptop, I would be forced to use 2 USB ports to take advantage of 1 device. But the flexibility quickly outweighs the issue and I find myself less and less concerned with the cabling the more I use the ION.