LaCie bumps Rugged Hard Disk up to 500GB

LaCie on Tuesday announced the release of its new 500GB Rugged Hard Disk.

The custom-designed external hard drive looks a bit like an inflatable raft. It’s encased in thick orange rubber bumpers on all four sides that help protect the hard disk mechanism from bumps and damage. The drive is enclosed in an aluminum chassis. Inside is a Hitachi TravelStar 5K500, a 2.5-inch internal hard disk drive.

LaCie offers the drive in two versions: USB 2.0 only or USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. The drive derives its power from the data interface. It comes with LaCie’s “1-Click” backup software, as well as SilverKeeper diagnostic and formatting software.

LaCie’s press release indicated the drive is available starting at $299.99, but as Macworld posted this article, LaCie’s Web site shows the USB 2.0 version priced at $339.99, and the triple-interface version priced at $399.99.