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LaCie intros new USB 3.0-powered external drives

Lacie dropped two new USB 3.0-powered external hard drives Wednesday--a high-speed 3.0 update to the CNET-favored Rikiki and the sexy aluminum Minimus USB 3.0 desktop hard drive. Both externals are wrapped in brushed aluminum that protects the drive from scratches and light spills and also serves to dissipate heat from the drive while in use.

The two devices are compatible with Mac and PC OS and each comes bundled with 10GB of free Wuala storage in the cloud, making it easy to share files with coworkers and friends. And don't stress if your system isn't fitted with the latest USB 3.0 connection--the drives are also backward-compatible with version 2.0.

The LaCie Rikiki 3.0 will come in 500GB and 1TB capacities, but the LaCie Web site only has the 500GB in stock for $100, just $15 more than the 500GB Rikiki USB 2.0. Alternatively, the LaCie lists the 1TB Minimus USB 3.0 for $130. Both drives are available now.

More pictures of both drives after the jump.… Read more

Iomega to add USB 3.0 to eGo portable drives

Iomega announced Tuesday that its plans to equip all of its eGo portable hard drives in 500GB and 1TB capacities with the new USB 3.0 interface by early October. Iomega is a little late to the USB 3.0 game as Western Digital, Seagate, and many other storage vendors released their USB 3.0-based external hard drive a long time ago.

According to Iomega, to make up for this, the new USB 3.0 portable drive will share the same software bundle that comes with its existing USB 2.0 drives. And most importantly, according to the company, its … Read more

IoSafe SoloPro: Serious external storage gets speed

IoSafe released on Wednesday a new member of its family of disaster-proof external hard drives, the IoSafe SoloPro.

Measuring 5 inches by 7.1 inches by 11 inches and weighing 15 pounds, the IoSafe SoloPro is about as serious as a single-volume external hard drive can be when it comes to physical size and ruggedness. For comparison, the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk, one of the biggest conventional desktop single-volume external hard drives, weighs about 2 pounds.

All the extra weight in the SoloPro comes from layers of protective materials, which are designed to keep it safe from potential fire and … Read more

Get a 1TB Iomega USB hard drive for $60 shipped

I know cheap 1-terabyte hard drives are getting to be old hat these days, but you have to understand: I can remember when the PC reseller I once worked for was able to offer a 250-megabyte drive for $250, and what a big deal that was.

Consequently, when I see an Iomega Prestige 1TB USB hard drive for $59.99 shipped (after applying coupon code VN16W1W1JC2$MR at checkout), I can't not post it.

You'll be glad to know that this deal requires not two, not one, but zero mail-in rebates. What's more, unlike the Fantom drive … Read more

CNET's top external hard drives of 2010 (so far)

Your computer's internal hard drive is getting full and you need to expand the storage? It's time to get yourself an external hard drive. They are getting increasingly larger in capacity, cheaper in price, and much faster (those that support USB 3.0, anyway).

If your computer doesn't support USB 3.0, it's fairly easy to upgrade via an add-in card. Some external hard drives actually come with the add-in card themselves: the Western Digital My Book 3.0 (for desktops) and the Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0 (for laptops).

One of the big … Read more

Sans Digital announces USB 3.0-based RAID storage solution

Though USB 3.0-based external hard drives, such as the Western Digital My Book 3.0 or the Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0, are getting more and more popular, those that can handle RAIDs are still hard to find.

Sans Digital announced Thursday two new direct attached storage solutions that are arguably the first on the market that offer both. They are the four-bay TowerRAID TR4UTP and the five-bay TowerRAID TR5UTP. Apart from the different number of hard-drive bays, these two external hard-drive enclosures both support USB 3.0 and eSATA connections. They are designed to host multiple … Read more