LaCie Rugged All-Terrain 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 301370
by Lacie
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: LacieAudio: English (Original Language)
Format: CD
Platform: Windows
Model: 301370
Product features:
- 500 GB external hard disk with rugged, shock resistant case
- USB 2.0 interface provides up to 480 Mbps data speeds
- Bus-powered so no bulky power adapter required
- Measures 3.5 x 1.0 x 5.7 inches (WxHxD); backed by a 2-year warranty
- Windows Live OneCare 2.0 (Up to 3 Users)
- Norton Antivirus 2010 1-User [OLD VERSION]
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard [OLD VERSION]
- Nero 8 Ultra Edition [OLD VERSION]
- Roxio Creator 2010 [OLD VERSION]
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of LaCie Rugged All-Terrain 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 301370
Customer Review: The Best Option on the Market!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have tried just about every brand of HD that is currently in existence and if you need portability, the Lacie Rugged series is hands down the best HD option currently on the market. I actually use a massive amount of external HD's. In fact, I now own over 40 of these drives. I am an architectural photographer and I am constantly taking my HD's back and forth from my studio to my home. I actually use a very simple and straight forward system. Each job gets its own HD. Since I shoot 4x5 and the scans come out to be quite large, a 320-500 Gig drive is really the perfect size for the jobs I get. At any one time I can have 10-20 jobs in certain stages of completion so I need a lot of drives. I simply buy Pelican hard cases with foam and store all of my drives in those cases. The design of the hard drives and Pelican cases are a perfect combination for traveling with a large number of these drives.
Many of my Lacie Rugged Drives are well over 2 years old and I have yet to have a single issue with any of them. That's right, 40+ drives with some being over 2 years old and not 1 single problem. I simply cannot say the same thing about some of the other portable HD's on the market. While I usually prefer the triple interface version of this drive, I have run across a few sales on the USB 2.0 version that I simply couldn't turn down. While the USB 2.0 versions aren't as fast as the triple interface version, they are just as reliable so I highly recommend both versions of this drive. We are at the point now where HD storage is incredibly cheap. Just a few years ago drives were priced at $1 per gig. These drives are 1/3 that price so even tho they are a bit more expensive than some of the other drives on the market, its still vastly cheaper than what it was just a few years ago. A 500 Gig drive of this quality is absolutely worth 150-170 bucks. In fact, given the drives quality, its one of the best values currently on the market.
One of my favorite things about this drive is the size. Its just a perfect size for a portable HD. Not too small and not too large. It makes them perfect for the Pelican cases I store them in. They are also my favorite drives in regards to appearance however that is subjective and others may disagree. The different colored shells you can buy are also a great feature. I actually use them to color code the drives I am currently working on. They are easy as pie to snap on and I really like the other colors that are available. One of my favorite features is that they dont require a power cord, although this is the case with most portable HD's. It allows me to pop open my Pelican case and connect a drive without even having to remove it from the case. Cords are a huge problem for me as I have them going everywhere on both of my computers so any device that I buy that is free of cords is a HUGE plus in my book and I wont deny that this is one of the main reasons why I prefer portable HD's over standard external HD's.
Some people have suggested a few negatives in regards to these drives and I really have to disagree with most of them. For instance some have suggested that the bigger size compared to some of the other portable drives is a negative. I disagree. Lacie's drives are a bit thicker however that was done on purpose as it provides more protection during transportation. With some of the other portable drives like WD or Seagate, there is absolutely no extra room inside the drive at all which makes them more vulnerable when traveling. We are after all talking about portable drives and how well these drives are able to sustain the rigors of portable use is in all honesty one of the most important aspects to these drives, or any portable drive for that matter. Lacie's cases are much better suited for such rigors. This is just another case where bigger is better. Its important to note that we are not talking about a considerable size difference. The Lacie is still very small, its just not as small as some of the other drives.
Some people have also brought up the price as being a negative as they are a bit pricier than your standard portable HD. I completely disagree with this viewpoint. If they were more expensive yet equal in quality then obviously that wouldn't be a good thing however that just isn't the case. The additional cost gets you a higher quality drive and I for one am never against paying a little bit more when it gets me something higher in quality in return. Its absolutely worth it, especially in regards to HD's. Besides, most of the other companies now offer a higher quality line of portable HD's that are comparable price wise to the Lacie Rugged Line. Sure its tempting to try and save some money when buying HD's after all nobody I know likes to waste money. With that being said HD's are just not the kind of thing you want to get skimpy with in regards to your wallet. Go with the higher quality drives and you just might be saving yourself a serious headache down the road if you lose all your data due to a failing drive. Sure even these drives fail, they just dont fail as often. Why take the chance? I know I dont.
Last but not least I have seen some people questioning this HD's "Rugged" stature. This is the one I disagree with the most. This drive is easily the most rugged drive on the market. These people simply are not looking at this realistically at all. If your comparing these HD's to a Hummer 4x4 then, by comparison, they are not very rugged at all. When you compare them to every other portable HD on the market, which is the proper way of measuring this drives "Rugged" stature, then the use of the word "Rugged" couldn't possibly be more fitting. The person who brought this up stated that he wouldn't suggest dropping it. You must be kidding me, lol. I didn't realize that you had to be able to drop a HD in order for it to be considered rugged. In all honesty this is nothing short of ludicrous. Anyone who has any common sense has to know that dropping a hard drive, regardless of manufacturer or model, is not a good thing. Lacie certainly did not use the word rugged as a way of suggesting that these drives were drop proof. I dont care what HD you use, If you drop it there is a very good chance your going to damage it. Again that is not why the word "Rugged" was used. It was used in regards to the normal wear and tear that takes place with portable drives and in this regard these drives are without a doubt the most rugged drives on the market.
I would even suggest that people who dont need portability still choose to go with this line of drives. I know its very temping to buy those 1TB - 2TB drives however the failure rate with the bigger drives is much much higher than with the smaller 250-750MB drives. Just because they are built for portability doesn't mean you have to travel with them. Besides, if they are built for taking the rigors of travel, just imagine how well they will hold up if you dont travel with them.
IMO these are the best portable drives on the market and the fact that they look so damn cool is just a bonus. Popping open a Pelican case that has 12 of these babies inside never ceases to turn some heads, including my own, lol.
5 Stars!!
More LaCie Rugged All-Terrain 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 301370 reviews:
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Description of LaCie Rugged All-Terrain 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 301370
To survive in the real world, your data needs the protection of the LaCie Rugged Hard Disk. The exclusive creation of world-renown designer Neil Poulton, this portable storage solution offers a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface connection. Simply plug it into any PC or Mac with a USB port for backup, archiving and large data volume exchange anywhere. Its unique scratch-protected aluminum shell and shock-resistant rubber bumper make the LaCie Rugged Hard Disk especially resistant to harsh elements for extra protection along the road of your adventures. Includes: Rugged 500GB USB, Warranty : 2 Year Limited Warranty, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable (USB 1.1 compatible), USB power-sharing cable, Quick Start Guide, LaCie Utilities CD-ROM, Users Manual and UtilitiesDigital Cameras & Photo Categories
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