14 DAY TRIAL // Over the years, at times when a certain product type had become, more or less, common, it became necessary for hardware makers to find newer and more unusual ways of making their own inventions stand out from the crowd. Means of achieving this included new color options, some innovative feature or another and even projects that sought to go beyond the edges of a certain technology. Iomega decided not to go so far this time, settling instead for a game of words.
Iomega unveiled the Skin Drives, developed by Skin Industries and each sporting Skin-branded printed logo designs. Or rather, the external design was developed by Skin industries while Iomega took care to implement features that made sure its storage units had both the performance and the reliability demanded by the standards that the consumer market expects to see met.
The Skin Drives boast a capacity of 500GB and are pre-loaded with their maker's Protection Suite, which includes anti-virus and backup software. 2GB of online storage are also available. As for what distinguished between them, it is quite safe to say it is their own 'skins'. For instance, the Radical has a retro Skin-branded printed logo on a black top with a yellow base, whereas the Knock Out is gothic-themed and has a silver top with a black base. Furthermore, the Red Hot model boasts a red top, a black base and a Skin Swipe logo.
"The new Iomega Skin Drives exude an alternative personality with eye-catching Skin Industries graphics that demand the attention of anyone who doesn't accept the status quo, who zigs when others zag, especially when it comes to the look and design of their digital devices," said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC.
All three Skin Drives can survive drops of up to 51 inches, thanks to Iomega's Standard Drive protection, and are selling for $120.