Seagate 's LaCie latest Rugged hard drive features faster speeds through a Thunderbolt interface, a tougher design, and an integrated interface cable. Seagate 's LaCie latest Rugged hard drive features faster speeds through a Thunderbolt interface, a tougher design, and an integrated interface cable.

Thunderbolt offers speeds of up to 387 MB/s making the new LaCie Rugged one of the fastest bus–powered products on the market. The drive also features a USB 3.0 interface. The hard disk version performs at speeds of up to 122 MB/s, which is a 35% improvement over FireWire 800.

The upgraded drive is also tougher than ever before with improved shock, dust and water resistance. It is MIL-compliant, which means that data is protected even during accidental drops of up to 2 meters (6.6 feet). During transit, users can attach the removable cover to provide IP 54–level protection against dust and water. The SSD version goes a step further with resilience against vibration and shock. Included software even protects files from prying eyes with AES 256-bit encryption.

Plus, the integrated Thunderbolt cable stows neatly when not in use.

The LaCie Rugged, design by Neil Poulton, will be broadly available mid–June through LaCie resellers in 1TB ($219.99) and 2TB ($299.99) capacities. The 250GB SSD ($299.99) and 500GB SSD ($499.99) capacities will be broadly available early-July.

The LaCie Rugged is protected by a three-year limited warranty.