LaCie Gearing Up to Introduce Rugged USB 3.0 HDD

Back in February, LaCie announced that it was introducing an external hard disk drive that brought both the benefits of endurance and of fast data transfers. Known as the Rugged eSATA external hard drive, the storage unit used the less popular eSATA interface to break free from the read/write limits of the USB 2.0 connection. Now, the company is going even further, unveiling a model designed with the even faster standard known as USB 3.0.

By now, consumers should be well aware of what the SuperSpeed standard can do, namely boost transfer rates by ten times, compared to USB 2.0 ports. This is possible thanks to the bandwidth of 4.8Gbps (5Gbps). The new Rugged USB 3.0 HDD combines this performance with the portability of the 25-inch form factor and resistance to shock and scratch, thanks to the specially designed casing.

The 500GB, 2.5-inch drive measures 90 x 28 x 145 mm, weighs 241 grams and has transfer speeds of up to 110MB/s (or up to 480Mbps on USB 2.0 ports). Also, the enclosure is made of scratch-resistant aluminum and boasts a shock-resistant rubber bumper. This design was conceived by Neil Poulton and confers upon the device a level of reliability and endurance to match the performance.

"We are pleased to add USB 3.0, the fastest interface available, to our most recognized mobile solution," Anne–Sophie Marchand, consumer product manager, LaCie, said. "Now the most demanding customers can get the best performance out of a 2.5" hard drive - making the Rugged USB 3.0 the only hard drive necessary for work in the field."

The 500GB external rugged hard disk drive has a rotary speed of 7,200RPM and is bundled with a bus-powered cable and the LaCie Backup Assistant (Windows and Mac) and LaCie Setup Assistant software, for easy backup and formatting. Backed by a two-year warranty, the product can be seen in detail here and should become available next month.