Much like Apple, LaCie tends to find a design it likes, and then keeps reiterating it over the years, rather than completely reinventing its products every cycle. Take its Rugged portable hard drives. Last time we saw it updated, it was to the Rugged USB 3.0 Thunderbolt Series name, but now, there’s Rugged Thunderbolt ($220-$500). It has the same metal body and bright orange rubber border, but there are a few extras built in this time.
The drive comes in four configurations. There are standard spinning hard drives in 1TB and 2TB sizes, or SSDs at 250GB and 500GB. Now though, instead of requiring a separate cable to be plugged in, the Thunderbolt cord is integrated into the drive. It fits into the protective border when not in use, and there’s a cap that protects it and the USB 3.0 port from the elements. A USB cable is included as well, although it’s not built into the drive.
