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.

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

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.

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 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.

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. We're not certain it's something we'd want on our desk, however.

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

I needed a tough, portable drive to keep my work files on and this Rugged-Mini is perfect. It looks pretty cool and is very rugged. I use it almost every day, and I love it. It's large enough for all my stuff and it's really fast, too!

size; design; image quality; build quality

It performs as it is advertised to and priced right. It is what is is as a hard drive and it does what it's supposed to. I would recommend it to anyone that wants a hard drive that stores data and things like that...otherwise you may be out of luck.

Attractive Design; Easy To Setup; Easy to use; High Capacity; Performs as advertised; Portable; Quiet

2 Cords; Need a bigger size

solid product. works great. a lot of people i know count on this product bc it is so rugged.