LaCie Expands Rugged Hard Drive Line with New eSATA

By Dena Cassella February 11, 2010

LaCie has new eSATA on the horizon, the Rugged eSATA—and the company says it is the first mobile external HD on market with a Power eSATA interface. LaCie says the new Power eSATA connector can get speeds up to 90MB/s and you can use it as a USB drive. The LaCie Rugged eSATA has 500GB and also is compatible with standard eSATA ports when connected up with the USB power-sharing cable.

“We are thrilled to integrate power eSATA technology into our best-selling Rugged mobile hard drive,” said Anne-Sophie Marchand, Consumer Product Manager. “This solution brings dazzling transfer speeds to customers on the go, while still ensuring compatibility with standard eSATA and USB 2.0 connectors.”

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The LaCie Rugged eSATA will be available in 500GB capacity through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Reseller+ and LaCie Storage Partner starting for $159.99 (VAT included).

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LaCie’s new d2 Thunderbolt 2 external drive is SSD-upgradeable, but expensive

lacie reveals upgradeable d2 thunderbolt 2 drive final

Storage specialist LaCie just lifted the veil on its new d2 Thunderbolt 2 external hard drive, which may cause some sticker shock to all but the most affluent buyers.

Geared towards photo editors and other creative professionals, the LaCie d2 Thunderbolt 2 boasts data transfer rates of up to 220MBps from its mechanical hard drive, which comes in one of three capacities. You can get the d2 with a 3TB, 4TB, or 6TB hard drive inside.

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LaCie claims its new Rugged drive with Thunderbolt can sustain drops up to four feet

lacie reveals new rugged drive with built in thunderbolt cable 1

Most external hard drives live life in relative luxury: They remain on their owners' desks or in drawers, and are generally kept safe from any harm, save for accidental drops and spills.
LaCie's Rugged drive though, is meant for a more active, outdoor lifestyle.
LaCie has updated its Rugged drive with a built-in Thunderbolt cable for super-fast data transfers, and comes in both mechanical hard drive and SSD format. From a capacity standpoint, it comes in one of five flavors: 120GB, 256GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. The first three are available via SSD, while the last two are standard hard drives only. There is no crossover here.
On top of the Thunderbolt cable, the LaCie Rugged drive is also USB 3.0-compatible. LaCie claims that the SSD version boasts average transfer rates of 385 MB/s, while the standard drive model shuttles data at rates of 110 MB/s.
Measuring 3.5 x 5.5 x 0.97 inches, and weighing 9.2 ounces, the LaCie Rugged drive is covered in what looks like an orange bumper guard, and can sustain drops of up to 4 feet. However, it's worth noting that mechanical hard drives are much more prone to taking damage, considering that those drives, unlike SSDs, have quite a few moving parts inside them. Both the SSD and mechanical LaCie Rugged drive are also guarded via AES 256-bit encryption.
If you work in a typical office environment, you probably don't need one of these. However, if your workspace is based on a construction site or a similar locale that's rife with danger, perhaps a LaCie Rugged drive is just what the doctor ordered.
Now, for pricing details. The 120GB SSD costs $200, the 256GB SSD is $300, while the 500GB SSD version will run you $500, a cost of $1 per GB. As you might expect, the mechanical versions are a lot cheaper, with the 1TB model carrying a price tag of $220, and the 2TB unit going for $300.
You can check out the LaCie Rugged drive here.

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LaCie Little Big Disk may be the world’s fastest portable hard drive

LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2 left_high

SSDs, or solid state drives, are not just fast; they're significantly faster than standard mechanical hard drives, typically boasting data transfer rates that top out at roughly 500MBps for both reading and writing on average. However, LaCie is making a pretty bold claim about their new high-end portable solid state drive, saying it's the fastest portable hard drive in the world.
Dubbed the Little Big Disk, LaCie's 1TB SSD can supposedly transfer data at an apparently record-setting 1.375GBps. LaCie also claims that their new drive writes data at an incredible 1,180MB/s. The drive must be plugged into Thunderbolt 2 ports to achieve these speeds though.
The LaCie Little Big Disk houses a pair of 500GB PCI-E Gen 2 SSDs configured in RAID 0, but they can be put in RAID 1 or JBOD as well. A pair of aluminum plates absorb heat, while a fan cools the internals. To keep the decibel level down, the fan only turns on when the drive heats up.
Having a drive that pushes data this fast doesn't come cheaply, though: The Little Big Disk is available now for a whopping $1,299, which is about the price of an entry-level MacBook Pro these days.
If you work with big chunks of data and have the kind of coin to spring for the Little Big Disk, perhaps you should give it a look, especially if you regularly edit 4K video and super high-res images. You can pick up a Little Big Disk from the official LaCie website.