Today we're looking at a member of LaCie's Rugged range of external hard drives, in the shape of the Mini, a tough external hard drive with a self-powered USB 3.0 interface.
The LaCie Rugged Mini external hard drive has the same basic design as the larger Rugged drive: it's shock resistant for falls from heights of up 1.2 m and splash resistant too. LaCie also claims that it's new hard drive still worked perfectly after going under the wheels of a one tonne car.
It's available in three sizes: 500 GB, 1 TB and 1.5 TB.
We've got used to excellent performances from LaCie's Rugged range and today's product is no exception, and is right at the top of the table. With read speeds of 116 MB/s and write speeds of 114 MB/s, it even comes close to rivaling larger 3.5'' format drives.
With a volume of 220 cm³, the Mini is smaller than previous Rugged drives. It slides very easily into a pocket, especially now that you can remove the rubber sleeve, which slims it down to 124 cm³, making it the smallest 2.5'' drive yet. But be careful—without the extra rubber, it's less resistant.
The LaCie Rugged Mini external hard drive has the same basic design as the larger Rugged drive: it's shock resistant for falls from heights of up 1.2 m and splash resistant too. LaCie also claims that it's new hard drive still worked perfectly after going under the wheels of a one tonne car.
It's available in three sizes: 500 GB, 1 TB and 1.5 TB.
Performance
We've got used to excellent performances from LaCie's Rugged range and today's product is no exception, and is right at the top of the table. With read speeds of 116 MB/s and write speeds of 114 MB/s, it even comes close to rivaling larger 3.5'' format drives.
Portability
With a volume of 220 cm³, the Mini is smaller than previous Rugged drives. It slides very easily into a pocket, especially now that you can remove the rubber sleeve, which slims it down to 124 cm³, making it the smallest 2.5'' drive yet. But be careful—without the extra rubber, it's less resistant. Pros
- Excellent performance: read speeds: 116 MB/s; write speeds: 114 MB/s
- Very well protected against shocks
- USB 3.0 interface
- Self-powered over USB 3.0
Cons
- Rubber protection is bulky (but can be removed)
Conclusion
LaCie's Rugged Mini is an external hard drive that's small, speedy and solid. What more could you want?
OUR SCORE
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