LaCie's (www.lacie.com) US$449.99 Rugged RAID, the latest product to join its line of Rugged mobile hard drives. It features twice the speed and capacity of a standard mobile hard drive.

The Rugged RAID is also the only product in its class to feature hardware RAID 0 and 1, which lets professionals optimize the product for speed or data security according to their workflow – and use it on any Mac or PC. It features Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 along with two internal hard drives that are preconfigured in hardware RAID 0 for sustained performance of up to 240 MB/s.

When you're on a deadline, every second counts. The LaCie Rugged features Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 along with two internal hard drives preconfigured in hardware RAID 0 for sustained performance of up to 240 MB/s. With this speed, you can transfer 64 GB of content in less than five minutes.

Professionals, especially photographers, face the challenge of keeping up with ever-increasing resolutions and file sizes. The LaCie Rugged addresses this challenge by featuring 4TB in a compact footprint. With this capacity, the LaCie Rugged can store the equivalent of sixty 64 GB memory cards. This allows professionals to carry fewer drives while acquiring more photos, footage, and other types of content in the field.

The LaCie Rugged features RAID 1 (mirrored mode), which is where the data is duplicated across the two drives. So, even if a single drive fails in the field, the data remains accessible from the other drive. This is helpful to on-the-go professionals with limited laptop capacity. The LaCie Rugged can serve as the primary safe storage during travel. Even in the case of a single drive failure, data is protected.

For added data protection, the LaCie Rugged is resistant to shock, dust and water. It is tested to withstand drops of up to five feet and one ton of pressure. With its cap in place, the LaCie Rugged is IP 54-rated for superior resistance to dust and water splashing – even during operation.

Powered through the Thunderbolt cable, the LaCie Rugged offers access to the data anywhere; no power outlet is required. The integrated Thunderbolt cable ensures that the cable can't be lost.

The LaCie Rugged includes everything professionals need for secure backup in the field: a backup software suite and compatibility with Time Machine and Windows Backup. It also includes LaCie Private-Public software, which lets users password-protect the entire drive or only certain volumes with AES 256-bit encryption.

The LaCie Rugged features a three-year limited warranty that can also be extended and upgraded. The included limited warranty provides web-based resources, expert in-house technical support, and worldwide repair and/or replacement coverage.