LaCie Has a Globe-Shaped External HDD
Meet the LaCie Sphère.
On Monday during CES 2014, LaCie introduced the Sphère, an external hard drive that not only stores your files, but looks pretty in the process. The overall exterior was designed by Christofle, a French manufacturer of fine silver flatware and home accessories. This company is well known for its hollowware, crystal vases and silvery jewelry.
LaCie's new drive consists of a handcrafted spherical case of silver-plated steel. According to LaCie, this drive's outer shell requires a careful manual plating process. The shell is stamped, silver-plated and polished in Christofle's silversmith workshop in Yainville (Normandy), France. The result: a super shiny, reflective decorative piece that will spruce up any desktop.
According to the specs, the hard drive connects via a USB 3.0 port (USB 2.0 compatible), and does not require a separate power adapter (bus powered). Unfortunately, LaCie doesn't provide any information regarding speed, but the drive currently only arrives in one capacity: 1 TB.
Bundled software includes LaCie Private-Public password protection, LaCie Backup Assistant, and Eco Mode. System requirements include Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, or Mac OS X 10.5 or later (LaCie Private-Public software requires Mac Intel processor). The drive's overall dimensions are 5.3 x 5.3 x 4.9 inches.
"With the Sphère, LaCie and Christofle have once again thought outside the box. In an industry where square thinking is the rule, this product reflects LaCie's innovative edge," Philippe Spruch, executive vice president, Seagate branded, CEO and chairman of the board, LaCie.
The LaCie Sphère will be available this quarter through the LaCie Online Store, select concept stores, and Christofle retail stores and corners starting at $490.00.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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derekullo I lost my poor LaCie Sphère,Reply
When somebody sneezed.
It rolled off the desk,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor data,
Rolled out of the door.
It rolled in the garden,And under a bush,
And then my poor LaCie Sphère,
Was nothing but mush. -
wysir Wow... what a waste of money to purchase one of these. Not to mention it looks very likely to roll off a desk and mess up the hard drive bad.Reply -
rayden54 I guess if you want a fancy sphere thing, having a 1 TB hard drive in it isn't bad, but if what you really want is a hard drive...why?Reply -
zfreak280 cylinder shaped desktops and sphere shaped hard drives. Is the new computer fad shapes other than a rectangle? I guess pyramid shaped monitors are next.Reply -
jasonelmore that thing better have a SSD in it for $500. a spherical metal chassis is not worth $400 despite what apple might try to convince you.Reply