If the security of data on your mobile hard disk is really a top priority then LaCie has just released a new disk drive that may perhaps suit your requirements. It’s termed the Rugged Safe, and LaCie tout it since the safest mobile hard disk about the market.
The 500GB capacity, bus-powered USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 gain sports 128-bit AES hardware encryption and biometric authentication as a result of a fingerprint scanner. No software is essential to use the disk drive and associated protection as everything is handled by the disk drive, meaning use on any machine is often an uncomplicated plug-and-play affair. It even has the choice of specifying up to ten several users if utilized inside a company setting.
It is not just your data that’s well-protected, since the drive itself is surrounded by a shock-resistant enclosure referred to as the rubber bumper. Inside the case four independent suspensions hold the hard disk drive in place just in situation it ever gets dropped or hit.
The Rugged Safe comes using a 3-year warranty, LaCie Backup Assistant, PC and Mac compatibility, and will cost $189.99 for the 500GB design. A 1TB model is also offered for $299.99.
There’s one thing missing from this drive: USB 3.0. I do not expect any external difficult drives coming out in the second half of 2010 to stick with USB 2.0, and I’m surprised LaCie hasn’t added it to the Rugged Risk-free. It will limit sales as we progress by means of the year, but maybe an update is already underway and we will see an additional announcement in the few months.
The hard disk drive is definitely well-protected within that casing, but you do end up using a larger device to carry around. The casing measures 90 x 28 x 145mm as well as the unit weigh 298 grams. It is bigger than other equivalent capacity drives, but this is a drive clearly aimed at the security conscious where size and weight might be low about the list of priorities.