drive for its durability, but inside the orange and silver case is a 500GB hard drive that performs, on average, better than its counterparts. At $149, this is not the cheapest or slimmest option, but you're getting a drive that can be dropped from 7 feet, and it comes with online backup to boot.

div style"MARGIN 0in 0in 0pt" class"bt"Fast transfer speeds div; div style"MARGIN 0in 0in 0pt" class"bt"Online storage included div; div style"MARGIN 0in 0in 0pt" class"bt"Durable design div

Bulky

External Speeder. If you need fast external memory, you won't really be able to avoid the new USB 3.0 USB port. LaCie now offers the "rugged" series with this fast interface and has to prove its potential in this review.

LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 301930: Review While compact, large capacity external hard drives are widely available, few meet the standards of ruggedness and durability as the 500GB LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 External Hard Drive (301930) .

Fortified- aluminum chassis absorbs drops of 7 feet; Stylish- exclusive LaCie design by Neil Poulton; Speedy- latest USB 3.0 specification allows 110MB/s; Compatible- bus-powered model works with both Mac and PC

Expensive- price tag higher than drives of similar capacity

LaCie has a strong USB 3.0 enclosure that is fast, reliable and cheap. Chris takes a look and shows us that USB 3.0 storage doesn't have to break the bank.

Although it has been said that it won't become mainstream until it is officially adopted by Intel in 2011, USB 3.0 - aka SuperSpeed USB - is steadily emerging from the shadows with more and more manufacturers bringing support for the protocol to the eager masses.

Although we've seen quite a few desktop hard disks with a USB3 connection, the LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 is the first portable disk to arrive in our Labs with the faster version of the USB interface.

It's fair to say that LaCie's Rugged drives don't look like anything else out there. The stout aluminium shell and garish rubber sleeve are certainly distinctive.

Product used to transfer & store large pic files and video multimedia files from Mac. By moving these files from Mac hard drive to this portable drive, computer speed is enhanced. Product size is rather bulky but since it's bomb-proof, maybe it's worth it.

Compact yet rugged; Fast

None

I was looking for a fast and reliable portable drive to carry files when I travel. This one had a rugged design and seemed to be exactly what I was looking for, so I gave it a try. I've been using it for a few months now, without any issues.

I got this Rugged just recently, and it's already made a big difference to my workflow. It's very fast, and it has enough space for all of my backups and media. The backup is really easy to run, as the drive is compatible with Time Machine. It's FANTASTIC, as far as I'm concerned.