CALL me design-illiterate, but for all the emphasis on the LaCie hard drive being designed by Scottish award-winning product designer Neil Poulton, the gadget looks undernourished on the style scales.
The device is a black metal box with a glossy finish that is bound to collect fingerprints that only a CSI professional would appreciate.
LaCie hard disk
Design by Neil Poulton, 750GB
$265, call De' Source (Asia) on 6272-6606
Well, maybe Neil's trademark is simple, mass-produced objects, but this takes the cake.
The desktop hard drive is available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB sizes. For this review, I got my hands on the 750GB version.
The bad news first: the drive isn't a plug-and-play. You must launch the Setup Assistant software in it first. This formats it, prepping it for its maiden use.
You can choose to format the drive in one single partition for Windows or two separate ones - with one partition dedicated to solely Windows and the other suitable for all three operating systems (OS): Windows, Mac and Linux.
This allows you to exchange data between different OS. The process takes only a few seconds, so I am really nit-picking here about why the gadget isn't a plug-and-play.
Other than that, there's nothing to complain about.
LaCie makes sure the device justifies its hefty price tag: it's a Triple Interface drive, meaning it has all three connectivity options - USB 2.0, Firewire 400, and the latest eSATA interface which can handle a theoretical bandwidth of 3 gigabytes per second.
Translated to everyday tasks, it means you can zip over almost 1,000 songs or 3,000 photos in one second. Sweet.
Even when using the slower USB 2.0 connection, the 7,200rpm drive shifts large quantities of files in a jiffy.
LaCie also throws in useful software such as the 1Click Backup, which makes backups an idiot-proof one-click process. Simply launch the backup from your desktop and the software takes care of the rest.
FINAL SAY
A high-end hard drive with universal connectivity and zippy transfer speeds. A good choice for those with Zen tastes and deep pockets.
This article was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on Sep 17, 2008.
