Verbatim intros FireWire/USB notebook drives
updated 04:45 pm EST, Thu January 3, 2008
Verbatim SmartDisk Drives
Verbatim's contribution to pre-CES announcements is a significant overhaul of its SmartDisk portable hard drives. The new versions now top out at 320GB of storage but also offer the option of a combo FireWire and USB model; users can pick whichever format they can use. Both are completely bus-powered and run without the use of a power brick, making either an ideal choice for notebook owners whose carrying space is at a premium.
All versions of the drive come with BounceBack Express backup software for use when attached through USB and work with both Mac OS X and Windows PCs; on FireWire, a second cable allows the drive to be daisy-chained with other FireWire peripherals. Mac OS X Leopard's Time Machine backup feature has been tested with the devices, Verbatim says. Shipments of the drives start this month, when they will sell starting at $99 for a 120GB model with a USB-only connection.
