LaCie debuts new drives, 24-inch display

LaCie today announced five new devices at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company's latest offerings include the newly redesigned d2 Quadra, Little Big Disk Quadra, LaCinema Premier, and the Big Disk Extreme+ eSATA/USB. LaCie also unveiled a new 24-inch monitor designed for creative professionals, which is scheduled to ship later this month starting at $1,050.

d2 Quadra

LaCie's d2 Quadra features a quadruple interface -- with USB, FireWire 400/800, and eSATA connectivity -- but offers 60 percent more surface area than the standard design, according to the company. The d2 Quadra provides more heat dissipation without the need for a noisy fan, and is available in capacities from 320GB to 1TB from $190.

Little Big Disk Quadra

The Little Big Disk Quadra is a mobile disk designed for speed-intensive tasks requiring high storage capacities. The disk is as fast as the LaCie Big Disk Extreme+ desktop drive, according to LaCie, and is designed by Neil Poulton for quiet operation with a fanless cooling system. The Little Big Disk Quadra is available in 400GB and 500GB versions with either 7,200 RPM or 5,400 RPM drives starting at $475.

LaCinema Premier

LaCie's LaCinema Premier is a USB 2.0 multimedia hard drive designed to serve as a home entertainment center. Users connect the drive to a Mac or PC to transfer digital files, after which the drive is plugged directly into a TV for instant playback. The LaCinema Premier is available in capacities of 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB; the drive also supports a wide range of video, audio, and photo formats. LaCinema Premier is already available from $230.

Big Disk Extreme+ eSATA and USB 2.0

The Big Disk Extreme+ eSATA and USB 2.0 will ship in 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2TB capacities with EMC Retrospect software for backup management. The storage system features eSATA 3Gbps connectivity, reaching burst transfer rates of up to 125MB/sec via built-in RAID 0 functionality. The Big Disk Extreme+ features the Neil Poulton d2 design via a metallic housing crafted from aluminum alloy. The new eSATA and USB 2.0 version of LaCie's Big Disk Extreme+ is slated for shipment in February starting at $360.

LaCie 324 LCD Display

The company's new 24-inch monitor comes with an S-PVA panel offering improved colors via a wide 92 percent NTSC gamut. The new display also embeds a 10-bit Gamma Correction mechanism that minimizes banding and ensures color gradients are smoothly rendered. A 16-to-10 wide-screen format enables the monitor to display two letter-size (A4) pages side by side with additional room for palettes and toolbars. The LaCie 324 will ship at the end of January from $1,050.