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Lacie's Pocketdrive range of portable hard disks has proved popular with many users, thanks to the rugged design that makes them very tough and reliable.
The Pocketdrives are rather expensive, though, so Lacie has come up with a cheaper range of portable drives as an alternative. Designed by the renowned FA Porsche design agency, the new Mobile Hard Drive is a sleek, slimline unit measuring just 17mm high, 76mm wide and 129mm deep. That makes it about the size of a Palm PDA, so it's easy to carry in a pocket or slip into carrying bag. At 200g it's very light and certainly not a burden to lug around.
Installation is very easy, as the drive is recognised automatically by Windows ME or above. For Windows 98 there's a utility called Silver Lining, which acts as both driver and diagnostic software. The only minor oddity is that there's no support for Windows NT.
Our review unit had a capacity of 80GB and a Firewire interface, although there are 20GB and 40GB models also available. Lacie also provides a choice of either Firewire or USB2 interface, with the latter version likely to appeal more to PC users.
The drive's minimalist design certainly makes it a good choice for the mobile computer user and, as it's bus powered, there's no need to carry a power supply around.
However, it's definitely not as rugged as the Pocketdrive, so you may still prefer to pay a bit extra to get the tougher product.
If you're not working on a building site, you'll find that the Mobile Hard Drive provides an extremely lightweight and compact storage device at an attractive price.
Contact: Lacie 020 7872 8000
www.lacie.co.uk
Specifications:
- 76 x 129 x 17mm (w x d x h)
- 200g
- 4,200rpm hard disk
- Firewire or USB2 interface
- Bus powered
See also:
This new hard drive from Western Digital has a larger capacity than its predecessor. 19 Mar 2004
All Hard Drive
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