I/OMagic announces 6GB GigaBank USB drive
By Marc Perton 
posted April 9th 2005 7:07AM
posted April 9th 2005 7:07AM
Looks like Hitachi is producing enough of
those 1-inch 6GB hard drives that they're now showing up in devices other than
Zen Micros and
iPod minis. I/OMagic, which already makes
portable, USB-powered 2.2GB and 4GB GigaBank-branded drives, has announced a 6GB version, due out in May for about
$200. That's about the same price that the 2.2GB version went for when it was
released last year. (And, no, we don't know for sure that
it's using the Hitachi drive, but we think it's pretty likely.)
The real question: Is it perpendicular?
ITs cute and all, but, its not much cheaper than a ZEN, and that comes with extras like.. ooooh an mp3 player :) fm radio and, voice recorder :) But, whatever - I/O knows what they are doing =P
$200 for 6GB? Umm, isn't the MSRP on a 6GB Mini $250 and even less if you get a student discount (or after rebate or on sale or whatever).
So for $50 more you get at least the same functionality in a same-size, more prestigious, better looking package. And you get MP3 playback.
Not even to mention the fact that most people can do just fine with a 1GB USB memory stick which is doesn't have any moving parts. So I don't really see a market for this. Oh well.
As soon as I read the first few words I thought "it's going to cost as much as a mini, isn't it."
Guess I was right. I think $99-120 would be a good price point for something like this. Any more than that and you're getting into the range of a used Mini.
The larger than key chain, smaller than full hard drive products that have been coming out have somewhat puzzled me as well. They're kinda to big to be ultra convenient, but don't quite have the capacity to justify the inconvenience.
I mean, would a 30 - 60 gb laptop HD with a tiny external enclosure really be that much bigger (though this thing WON'T need external power as a 2.5" drive probably will)?
A cursory search reveals 40gb 2.5" HD's can be had for under $100
http://www.superwarehouse.com/Fujitsu_laptop_hard_drives/b/104/c/2485
And even if you drop ~$60 on an enclosure like this
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=50269037&pfp=BROWSE
You're still only at ~$160, at more that 6 times the capacity. Assuming of course as mentioned by others that you don't want to go with the even more simplistic (if slightly more expensive) route of buying a large capacity MP3 player.
But then again, these things probably hit SOMEONEs sweet spot...or we'll all just be picking them up for $20 on ebay in a year or two just 'cuz we can...
The dimensions of the Gigabank suggest a 1.8 inch drive *would* fit in there.
Why would you want to buy a microdrive with a USB connector, when a microdrive already has an ATA interface, and can be converted to USB with a $15 CF-reader?