Iomega 31533 Zip 250 MB USB/FireWire Drive Kit

by Iomega

Product Details

Product Manual [469kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005ICDK
• Item model number: 31533
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #81 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > External Data Storage > External Zip Drives
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 17, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

This Zip 250 MB USB/FireWire Drive Kit is perfect for the Mac or PC user who demands the speed of FireWire along with the near-universal connectivity of USB. Iomega's small and sleek 250 MB drive now has even more of the go-anywhere flexibility that mobile users demand.

The Zip 250 USB drive offers an ultrathin and mobile design that meets the high-capacity storage needs for both PC and Mac users. At 1 inch thick and weighing just under a pound, the Zip 250 USB drive can accompany the most demanding mobile computer user. Connect the drive conveniently with the industry-standard USB port, or for mobile users, the drive also provides a USB-powered PCMCIA interface.

The FireWire adapter will greatly increase the read speed of the Zip 250 USB drive from 0.9 MBps to over 2.0 MBps. It's plug-and-play, so you won't have to reboot every time you connect the drive to your PC or Macintosh. In addition, desktop systems with six-pin FireWire ports are capable of providing host power to the Zip 250 USB drive via the FireWire adapter. Hence, there's no need for a power supply.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!, July 28, 2001

By 

sherman-nyc (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Iomega 31533 Zip 250 MB USB/FireWire Drive Kit (Personal Computers)

I needed an external drive in a hurry, and initially turned to external CD burners. However, after reading numerous reviews across a variety of sites, it quickly became obvious that none of the external burners were up to the task. According to reviews, most of them (HP 8000 series, Iomega Predator, etc...) suffered from reliability problems, and to exacerbate the matter further, transfer speeds were reportedly slow. Hence, in desperation, I turned to other forms of storage. To my delight, Iomega's Zip 250 USB/Firewire drive has performed excellently! I haven't had a chance to test out the firewire capability, but all I can say is that I am extremely pleased with its USB performance! I have successfully transferred all my files from my work computer (running on Windows NT) to my home computer (running on Windows 98), and there have been no software or reliability issues at all. Good going, Iomega! Now, if only they could pull their stock out of the pits........

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not what I expect from a firewire/usb product, October 4, 2001

By 

perlbio (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Iomega 31533 Zip 250 MB USB/FireWire Drive Kit (Personal Computers)

After first getting a USB portable zip and found it to be extremely slow, I returned it and bought a firewire Iomega zip. As I need it to be portable, I don't want it to require a power adapter. I was dismayed when I found out that the USB version requires a power adapter. While the firewire one does not, it is not that much significantly faster than the USB version. It is also bulkier than the USB version because of the adapter. It takes 7 minutes to transfer a 56 Mb file--not what I expect from a firewire connecting device.

4.0 out of 5 stars Rear adaptor funky, but it works, September 2, 2002

By 

Jim Trethewey (Hillsboro, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Iomega 31533 Zip 250 MB USB/FireWire Drive Kit (Personal Computers)

I got the FireWire version of the Zip drive.
My previous purchase of the USB version has been flawless.
The FireWire version is a little funky because the firewire interface doesn't look "normal/integrated", there is this funky adaptor that attaches to the rear and appears to convert the firewire to something else (looks like SCSI).
The manner in which this adaptor attaches to the rear is a little precarious (looks like it won't stay hooked reliably).
But I in fact had no problem getting the software to work, and the drive has not given me any problems at all.