Budget disc-burner keeps most options open with multiple formats

Removable storage maker Iomega learned a tough lesson about standards when it walked away from its old Jaz and PocketZip drives. Even the Zip drive, which first brought Iomega to worldwide prominence, is likely to retire before long. So it was no surprise that Iomega chose the DVD+RW standard for its new DVD burner. Of the two main standards - DVD+RW and DVD-RW - the plus team have managed to dominate the PC arena, while the rival DVD-RW standard has proved more popular in the consumer electronics world.

But with new drives from Sony and NEC that manage to support both standards hitting the market, it is a shame Iomega did not set its sights a little higher. The drive will read DVD-ROM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW discs but, like most current drives, cannot write to any of them.

However, Iomega's new drive manages to squeeze in both DVD+RW and CD-RW, making it an attractive purchase if you're looking for a budget disc-burning system. The latest multi-format DVD burners either lack CD burning or charge far more for it.

The drive records DVDs at speeds of 4x2.4x12, and CDs at 16x10x40, making it a pretty fast choice.

The drive features Digital Audio Extraction and Buffer UnderRun Protection, to reduce the risk of wasted discs.

Software in the bundle includes Hotburn Pro for burning discs, Iomega Automatic Backup for backing up and archiving your PC data, Sonic MyDVD for video editing, a video player named Sonic CinePlayer, Adobe ActiveShare, which lets you touch up and organise photographs, and MusicMatch Jukebox, which is a high-end music library, player and recorder.

Iomega DVD+RW