Storage drive makers Seagate and LaCie on Wednesday announced an agreement that will see the former buy a majority, 64.5-percent share in LaCie. The deal will see about $186 million change hands, and the product portfolios will be merged. The focus will also be on expanding the storage market in Europe and Japan.
On May 15, LaCie announced an addition to its network attached storage (NAS) line of products. The LaCie 2big NAS joins the product lineup. The new drive case is fully compatible with Apple's Time Machine software as well as Windows 7 Backup. Remote access is by way of FTP, SFTP, or HTTP file transfer. Cloud storage is accessible by an iOS application.
Today's deals from DealNN include price breaks on external hard drives, Blu-ray players, and more. Macmall.com has recently dropped the price of the refurbished LaCie 500GB External hard Drive, complete with plug-and-play functionality for both PC and Mac computers, a USB 2.0 and FireWire interface, shock-resistant design, and transfer speeds up to 800Mbps. Currently featured at DealNN, this hard drive can now be purchased for only $84.99 and offers savings of up to 43%.
The LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt series external drive has hit the market. First seen at CES 2012, the new drives give users the added flexibility of using its eSATA port to connect existing eSATA drives over Thunderbolt. LaCie say that the eSATA Hub will boost transfer speeds and will allow users to daisy chain the drive with other Thunderbolt peripherals.
LaCie finally delivered its long-promised first Thunderbolt device in the Little Big Disk. The drive is hand-portable but has enough headroom in the 10Gbps connection to supply a Mac with speed well beyond what FireWire can do. With a 240GB SSD RAID striped option, it can peak up to 634MB per second in read speeds and up to 870MB per second when two drives are daisy chained together.
Apple might not only be still open to USB 3.0 but willing to add it before Intel does on its own, sources divulged Thursday. The company has reportedly been investigating third party USB 3.0 host controller chips now that the prices of these are negligible, at below $3. Its timing wasn't certain to VR-Zone informants but would preempt Intel's Panther Point chipset, which will officially add USB 3.0 sometime in the spring.
LaCie has expanded its Rugged series of portable hard drives, introducing the Rugged Mini. The new offering is said to be 40 percent smaller than its predecessors, without sacrificing a durable build. The compact drive features a rubber edge for resistance to shock and falls, while the aluminum housing is also claimed to be water resistant.
LaCie quickly seized on rumors of delayed Thunderbolt hardware with an official response shooting down the claims. The gear maker said that people had raised false alarm about the Little Big Disk after looking at the Australian page, where the difference in seasons has winter happening mid-year. The release has always been on tap for the summer, LaCie said in pointing to its US page.
Maker of high-style external hard drives LaCie has partnered with Porsche Design on two new external hard drives. Both are available with USB 3.0 for faster transfer speeds and include the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Hard Drive P'9220 and the LaCie Porsche Design Desktop Hard Drive P'9230. Each has a brushed aluminum exterior that is efficient at wicking away heat and is completely recyclable.
LaCie has unveiled its latest device, the CloudBox, which aims to bridge the gap between cloud-based and network-attached storage. The backup box provides just 100GB of local storage, however it automatically uploads the content to LaCie's online storage service. The system is designed to eliminate the need for a computer to be constantly uploading content to the cloud, a process that can prove slow when transferring large amounts of data across consumer-level broadband connections.
After brief teases last Thursday, Intel on Monday confirmed the SSD 510. The flash drive series is now billed as the fastest mainstream SSD on the market and can peak at 500MB sequential read speeds, twice as fast as earlier most drives. Sequential writes are even more improved and, at 315MB per second, are the fastest overall and about three times better than Intel's past drives.
A few peripheral makers are already beginning to announce Thunderbolt-compatible storage drives. LaCie has debuted a Little Big Disk with the connection technology, which has a maximum bandwidth of 10Gbps in either direction. Providing the actual storage are two 250GB Intel 510 SSD drives.
LaCie on Thursday announced it is now shipping its LaCie Slim Blu-ray external drive. USB 2.0-powered, the drive is meant to act as a notebook companion and lets them write to blank single- (25GB) and dual-layer (50GB) Blu-ray discs. It can also read and write to single- and dual-layer DVDs.
LaCie has introduced a new USB hub, the Hub4, designed for USB 3.0-equipped computers. The hub integrates four USB 3.0 ports, supporting combined speeds of up to 5Gbps when connected to a single USB 3.0 port on a computer. Users can also connect via USB 2.0, but at the slower 480Mbps data transfer speeds.
LaCie today merged SSDs with flash drives in the FastKey. It uses the USB 3.0 interface to deliver transfer speeds as fast as 260MBps, or up to 100 times faster than average USB 2.0 drives. A mix of the interface, flash drive design and DRAM cache gives the drive its speed edge.
LaCie drew on well-known French designer Philippe Starck today to rework its external drive design. The Starck Mobile USB 3.0 has a uniquely rounded aluminum shell that's both more visually distinctive and also more advantageous for the drive itself. At 2mm (0.08in) thick, the drive is resistant to mild shocks and gets a passive heatsink to keep the drive cool.
Storage maker LaCie has released a new Mac USB 3.0 driver. As no Mac ships with a USB 3.0-ready port by default, the driver can only support accessories on a Mac Pro equipped a LaCie PCI Express adapter, or a MacBook Pro with the company's ExpressCard/34 adapter. In either case, Mac OS X 10.5 is required.
LaCie today upgraded its external hard drives to both speed up and take advantage of a new wave of 3TB hard drives. The 2big USB 3.0 uses two of the drives to both hit 6TB and speed up by about 20 percent. LaCie estimates a peak transfer speed of 306MB per second, which it claims is the fastest ever for a two-bay RAID drive.
LaCie today rolled out a very high-end desktop LCD for pro image editing. The 24-inch 324i uses a 1920x1200 P-IPS panel with 10-bit color per channel and consequently offers near-total coverage of the color ranges visual editors need. It can reach 98 percent of the Adobe RGB color gamut and a better-than-full 102 percent coverage of what NTSC video can use.
LaCie today became one of the few to follow Apple into the combination of a router and network-attached storage by launching the Wireless Space. Like the Time Capsule, it can share both an Internet connection over 802.11n Wi-Fi and to three Ethernet-linked computers, though with more sharing features. The NAS can serve content to other devices with DLNA or UPnP as well as serve as an iTunes host for a device like an Apple TV.
Venturing into relatively new territory, LaCie released the 2big USB 3.0 as the first ever external drive to combine both RAID and the faster USB interface. The two-drive enclosure can run as JBOD (just a bunch of disks) or in a RAID 1 mirror for security but excels when put into a RAID 0 stripe for speed. At a peak 205MB per second, the stripe is faster than even a FireWire 800 or eSATA drive and can transfer large volumes of data in record time; LaCie claims a dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray could copy in under five minutes.
LaCie has taken the wraps from its new line of small form factor USB 3.0 hard drive, which it claims are the world’s smallest ever. The portable Rikiki and desktop-sized Minimus drives deliver a theoretical high-speed 5Gbs/s perfomance over USB 3.0, in a brushed aluminum casing that takes up less space. Both also have 10GB of online storage space through Wuala.
LaCie has unveiled its most compact USB flash storage drive ever, the MosKeyto. Offering capacities up to 16GB in a size that is only 0.7 inches long and 0.35 ounces, the device is short enough to lay flush against a notebook while being stored in a bag. It's also equipped with a nylon strap and a cap to protect it when on the move.
Display, hard and flash drive maker LaCie on Tuesday introduced the latest USB drive to its collection, the XtremKey. The small flash drive is house in a 2mm thick metal pipe casing and is sealed with water-resistant screw threads and a rubber O-ring. This makes it waterproof up to 100 meters (328 feet), or enough to reach the bottom of some rivers.
LaCie has expanded its line of external storage products with the Rugged Safe, an external drive designed to protect data. Contents of the drive are secured using 128-bit AES hardware encryption, while a fingerprint scanner has been integrated directly onto the top of the housing for additional biometric authentication.
Storage maker LaCie has launched the Network Space MAX, a new network-attached storage drive. The peripheral connects to a computer or LAN through a Gigabit Ethernet port, allowing multiple devices to share its data; it can alternately be connected via USB. The latter also permits users to share a printer, or upload files directly from a camera.
LaCie has added the Rugged USB 3.0 external hard drive to its lineup, offering 110MBps practical transfer speeds, or about three times faster than current USB 2.0 drives. The drive gets its power from the USB 3.0 connection as well, and is offered in a 500GB capacity. The USB 3.0 connection is backwards-compatible with USB 2.0 ports.
LaCie on Tuesday introduced updates to it d2, 2big and 5big network-attached storage (NAS) systems. Version 2 of each device features a new 1.2GHz CPU for improved data transfer rates of up to 70 MB per second. Users can now take advantage of a widget-based interface from most web browsers, while the software will automatically search for updates. The company has also added a USB interface to each system.
LaCie on Thursday introduced an upgraded product into its fold, with the Rugged eSATA external hard drive. Billed as the first rugged portable hard drive on the market with an eSATA port, it's considered fast at 90MBps transfer speeds when connected to the newer port. It can also run entirely bus-powered when attached to a USB-eSATA combo port and bundles an adapter cable that can use a USB port to provide the remaining energy.
LaCie and Incipio have both announced new protective cases for the iPad and MacBooks. LaCie’s latest products, the Coat and ForMoa, are designed for 13-, 15-, or 17-inch MacBooks and MacBook Pros, as well as Apple’s newest iPad. Both of the sleeve models feature a double layer of neoprene for added protection, with an internal soft lining to help prevent scratches. Each case also comes in five different colors including red, blue, black, orange, and pink.
Storage drive maker LaCie has began catering to the enterprise market this week by announcing its Enterprise Class range of products. The lineup includes the 4big, d2 and the 2big Quadra Enterprise Class drives, all sporting different form factors. Each device in these new product lines sports SATA hard drives and features 128-bit AES hardware encryption for securing data. There is also hardware RAID support along with hot-swap capabilities.
LaCie in collaboration with Microsoft has announced a new network storage server that is based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server Platform. The LaCie Windows Home Server 5big Network Server is geared towards the needs of small business owners and provides an interface for automatically backing-up computers to a single server. Features include the ability to backup and secure data both locally and remotely, and to automatically copy data to the cloud-based storage server by using LaCie’s Wuala technology.
LaCie has announced the Rugged USB 3.0 external storage and two USB flash drives, the CooKey and WhizKey. The Rugged drive features the latest USB 3.0 interface, with data transfer rates claimed to reach up to 110MB/s. The company has yet to announced capacities for the updated version, although the current USB 2.0 model is available with 250GB, 320GB or 500GB hard drives.
Storage maker LaCie has launched the LaCinema Mini HD, a new media center set-top. Users can transfer files to the Mini via USB, or else through Ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi connections. Content can alternately be streamed directly, whether from a Mac, a Windows PC or a network storage drive. Video is displayed in 1080p via an HDMI cable, and supports various formats including DivX, AVC and MKV.
LaCie today collaborated with Symwave to showcase a version of the former company's 2Big RAID 0/1 drive that uses the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard to deliver burst read speeds as fast as 275MBps. The dual hard disk RAID storage uses both a SATA and RAID bridge controller to deliver this record-setting transfer speed.
LaCie recently and quietly outed its latest portable hard drive, the 2.5-inch Rikiki. It is said to be one of the smallest drives of its types on the market, with its name being slang for "tiny" in French. It is encased in a brushed aluminum case and the only connection for both power and file transfer is a USB 2.0 port.
LaCie on Tuesday introduced the LaCinema Classic HD, a media server capable of full 1080p video playback. Users can connect an HDTV using a standard HDMI cable, while Composite connectors are also available. Multichannel DTS audio is supported, sent via HDMI or a dedicated S/PDIF optical port. A 1TB hard drive is integrated for storing movies, music or photos, while a USB 2.0 connection is provided for interface with a computer.
LaCie is without a doubt best known for its hard drives and other storage solutions, many of which are often particularly good-looking. The company's new Sound2 Speakers could also be described in just such a way. Shaped by French designer Neil Poulton and engineered by Cabasse, a French loud speaker manufacturer, the design comes across as a French supermodel. But does that mean the design is strictly superficial? Our Sound2 review finds an answer.
LaCie on Tuesday revealed its latest storage solution, the Network Space 2 Network Attached Storage (NAS) and media server. Again designed by Neil Poulton like many of LaCie's similar products, the Network Space 2 is user friendly thanks to the preloaded LaCie Network Assistant. This allows users to customize the dashboard with widgets, which let them access networks and drive information as well as user accounts and drive capacity.
Hard drive maker LaCie on Tuesday introduced two new external hard drives that were designed by Phillippe Starck. Both sport a sculptured magma motif from the world-famous designer, which is touch-sensitive in the Starck Desktop. This drive is covered by a 3mm aluminum shell, and has Starck's signature orange LED that indicates the drive's status. The touch interface is customizable, allowing users to open certain applications depending on how long they stay in contact with the touch surface.
LaCie and loudspeaker manufacturer Cabassee have announced the Sound2 Speakers, a new USB-powered speaker system. The set is designed to be used with any computer, iPhone, iPod or other media player, with plug-and-play connection to avoid setup hassle. The system integrates a Class D digital amplifier with magnetic shielding, which reaches a total output of 15W per speaker. Cabasse's Wide Band Drivers provide a frequency response reaching from 80Hz to 20kHz, while a bass reflex design helps enhance the low-end sound.
ATTO and LaCie have announced a new partnership to deliver enterprise-level storage systems. The collaboration pairs ATTO's ExpressSAS R380 SAS/SATA host adapter with LaCie's 12big Rack Serial, along with the Celerity FC-42ES Fibre Channel host adapter and the 12big Rack Fibre storage system. The combination of products is designed for environments requiring RAID protection or fast transfer speeds, such as editing multiple streams of uncompressed HD video.
LaCie has introduced its latest computer accessory, a portable DVD burner designed by Sam Hecht. The device is USB powered, eliminating the need for an AC adapter. A variety of DVD and CD formats are supported, with DVD burn speeds up to 8x and CD burn speeds up to 24x. The drive weighs under a pound and measures less than an inch tall.
LaCie on Wednesday announced the release of its LaCinema Rugged HD multimedia drive. An upgrade of the original, it can now play 1080p video through any TV with an HDMI port. The drive's 500GB capacity lets users store a large amount of both HD content as well as music and photos. Content is transferred onto the drive via a USB 2.0 connection from Windows and Mac OS X computers, with supported movie codecs that include H.264, MKV, MPEG-4 and WMV9.
LaCie on Monday added again to its LaCinema devices with the LaCinema Classic Bridge. The device recognizes any 3.5-inch internal SATA drive, or most USB drives, and plays media stored on either disk using a visual interface to navigate. It can handle videos in DivX, MPEG-4 and XviD up to 1080p, MP3 and WMA audio, and both JPEG and specially optimized HD-JPEG still images.
LaCie announced on Wednesday it has released two new products meant to enhance a user's home multimedia experience. The LaCinema Black PLAY and RECORD are wireless HD media players connect to a user's home network via their built-in Ethernet ports or Wi-Fi connections. Available in 500MB or 1TB capacities, the drives sport an integrated UPnP client for easy access to media stored on networked PCs or Macs.
LaCie has released a new series of hard drive bags, while expanding its line of USB Hubs. The new USB Hubs consists of the Core4 and the Core7, each designed to add multiple USB ports to a user's computer. The three-model series of hard drive bags are intended to provide different levels of Hard Drive protection.
LaCie has announced two new upgrades to its networked-attached storage (NAS) devices: the LaCie 5big Network and 2big Network. The product enhancements include improved performance, capacity expansion, and extra data protection with RAID settings. The 5big Network adds support for Time Machine backup software, along with improved multimedia server capabilities that allow users to stream multimedia files to UPnP players such as a PS3 or Xbox.
LaCie early today rolled out network-attached storage (NAS) versions of two of its most familiar external hard drives. The single-disk d2 Network and dual-disk Big Disk Network both get gigabit Ethernet connections that let them share their storage on a local network. They're officially compatible with Mac OS X Leopard's Time Machine backups and have built-in servers to work independently of computers, including their own BitTorrent managers, media streaming through DLNA- and UPnP-compatible devices, and iTunes hosting.
LaCie on Tuesday announced a new portable storage device, the DataShare. The device is designed to use standard SD and microSD memory cards. The red half provides a Push/Push connector that accepts a microSD card, while the larger SD card is inserted into the red half. Users can keep personal or protected data on one side, while shareable files can be placed on the other side.
