LaCie on Thursday announced its updated Rugged Thunderbolt external hard drive with options in capacities including 1TB, 2TB, 250GB and 500GB.
The upgraded hard drive offers faster speeds and a tougher MIL compliant case which can survive a fall from heights up to 6.6 feet in non-operative mode. It also has IP 54-level protection against dust and water.
LaCie offers them in two versions: an SSD version and a hard disk version. The SSD version offers transfer speeds of up to 387MB/s while the hard disk version offers up to 122MB/s. In other words, it has about 35 percent improvement in speed. The company claims that it can transfer up to 100GB in less than five minutes.
The company’s announcement reads, “With both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 interfaces, the LaCie Rugged is an ideal match for Mac and PC users.”
“Because USB 3.0 is backward compatible, users can connect it to any standard computer. The LaCie Rugged is also fully bus–powered through the USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt cables.”
The SSD as well as the hard drive version come with LaCie’s Backup Assistant which helps users store a backup for all the files on their PC. They also include the Private-Public feature which offers password protection with AES 256-bit software encryption.
The 1TB drive will cost $219.99 while the 2TB variant is priced at $299.99. The 250GB drive will cost $299.99 and the 500GB drive will have a price tag of $499.99.
All the drives are expected to hit shelves of LaCie resellers in the middle of this month. The company also offers a three-year limited warranty which includes technical support, complimentary web-based resources, and a world-wide replacement/repair coverage. Those who wish can purchase warranty extensions.
