LaCie launches six new storage solutions

LaCie today launched six new storage solutions to accommodate Mac users, and announced its planned presence at Macworld Expo in San Francisco (Booth #S2226) beginning next week. The new products include LaCie's d2 Blu-ray Drive, Quadra Hard Drive, d2 SAFE Hard Drive, Ethernet Disk mini & Ethernet Big Disk, Ethernet Disk RAID, and FireWire Speakers. Four of the new solutions features LaCie's rack-mountable d2 case design made from an aluminum alloy, and each has a different functionality from biometrics to networking. LaCie's d2 Blu-ray Drive is available for pre-order at $1,150. The company's Quadra Hard Drive ($300), d2 SAFE Hard Drive ($300), Ethernet Disk mini & Ethernet Big Disk ($200-500), and FireWire Speakers ($80) are already shipping (pricing for the Ethernet Disk RAID solution was unavailable).

LaCie's new d2 Blu-ray Drive is an external Blu-ray drive available for both Mac and Windows systems that comes with Roxio burning software and dual FireWire/USB interfaces. The drive records, rewrites, and reads 25GB or 50GB BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (rewritable) media, as well as DVD±RW DL and CD±RW discs.

The company's Quadra Hard Drive offers quadruple interfaces with USB, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and eSATA connectivity. Each drive offers a LaCie shortcut Button on the front of the drive to quickly launch favorite applications, documents, or backup files. The Quadra Hard Drive ships with EMC Retrospect express backup software in 500GB storage capacities.

The d2 SAFE Hard Drive is a biometric access storage device designed to protect private data from unauthorized use. The device offers FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and USB 2.0 connectivity alongside a biometric sensor boasting 128-bit AES data encryption and a chain lock port. Users can register up to 10 fingerprints to accommodate up to five users with a minimum of two prints each to lock and unlock the drive with the swipe of a finger. The d2 SAFE Hard Drive offers 500GB of storage capacity and ships with 1-click backup software for both Mac and Windows systems.

The LaCie Ethernet Disk mini & Ethernet Big Disk is a network storage solution designed for small home and office use with five varying storage capacities. The disks allow users to set up a home network via simple installation wizards, according to LaCie, and instantly creates a central repository for files accessible via FTP, HTTP, or over a home wired or wireless connection. The device features two USB ports, and ships with 1-click Backup software. Models are available in 250GB, 320GB, 500GB, 640GB, and 1TB storage capacities.

The Ethernet Disk RAID is a RAID 5 network storage for small business or workgroups powered by an Intel 80219 processor. The device comes with a system backup and recovery client for Microsoft Windows that allows for automatic incremental backups from localized client machines and network/remote booting. LaCie's Ethernet Disk RAID also offers file sharing for Mac and Linux installations alongside RAID security with 0, 1, 10, and 5+spare modes. Four hot-swappable SATA drive work with two gigabit LAN ports to act as a DHCP server for a local gigabit network. Two USB 2.0 ports also allow users to easily add storage to the network.

LaCie's FireWire bus-powered speakers come in a compact black-and-white design, drawing power from a built-in FireWire cable with no AC adapter required. The speakers produce 8-watts of minimum output, according to the company.

Filed under: upgrades/storage