Iomega Releases Bare-Bones Network Drives

While an estimated 30 million homes in the United States have multiple computers, many home users have no idea how to make file sharing possible in their homes, even though they can benefit from it.These are the consumers Iomega targets with their latest line of networked hard drives, which are intended to offer basic functionality at prices barely above thecost of a bare drive.   Iomega’s Home Network Drives line includes 320GB, 360GB and500GB modelsat prices between $149 and $199. Each unit features a single 7200 RPM SATA II drive with an 8MB cache. Coupled with a 10/100 Ethernet connection, up to four computers can access the drives. Using aUSB connection, a single computer can also access the drive without using its network capabilities.   “Families are struggling with how to organize data across multiple PCs,” saidTom Kampfer, president and COO of Iomega Corporation, in a statement. “Shared network storage made easy and affordable with Iomega’s new Home Network Hard Drive adds the benefit of securelysharing and consolidating photos, music and video over a home family network, as well as increasing storage and backup capacity.”   The 320GB and 500GB models of Iomega’s new lineare both available now through the company’s Web site. Iomega will release the 360GB version of its drives in late September for $149, the same price the 320GB version currently goes for.