Take the latest announcement: that of the first Rugged eSATA hard drive.

LaCie is keen to point out the cost savings of getting an eSATA hard drive over an equivalent eSATA SSD. Given how reliable hard drives generally are now (unless you are extremely unlucky) and the rugged nature of this drive — something LaCie does well — it’s a factor worth considering.

Obviously, you’ll need an eSATA port on your computer in order to take advantage of this, but they are becoming a lot more common.

You’ll get speeds of up to 90MB/s with Power eSATA, and also compatibility with existing USB 2.0 ports.

Protection-wise, the drive is housed in scratch-resistant aluminium, internal shock absorbers and shock-resistant rubber bumper. You’ll likely already be familiar with Neil Poulton’s design on this style.

Available in 500GB capacity for around £139 ($210).

LaCie

1. LaCie Starck Desktop/Mobile hard drives

Desgned by Philippe Starck, these cool hard drives (one for the desktop, one for mobile users) look amazing, are made from thick aluminium casing, have a touch sensitive surface for quick launch of applications, and come with auto-backup software.

Lacie UK

2. Buffalo SuperSpeed USB 3.0 hard drive

Not only does Buffalo’s hard drive use the cutting edge USB 3.0 high speed interface offering up to 125MB/s data transfer rates, but its black curvy body is well worth showing off as you transfer high definition movies back and forth in mere seconds.

3. Buffalo MiniStation

Attractive portable hard drives from Buffalo feature built-in security and direct USB connection without the need for an additional power supply.

4. Toshiba portable hard drive

This 400GB portable hard drive from Toshiba has some cool blue swishes on it and has NTI Shadow backup software built in.

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5. Seagate FreeAgent Pro

Like orange? Try this desktop hard drive from Seagate: the FreeAgent Pro, available in a range of capacities and connectable via FireWire, USB 2.0 or eSata.

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6. Suissa Shadow Wooden external hard drive

If you yearn for a wood effect on your gadgets, check out this hard drive from Suissa.

As you can see, this maplewood drive has plenty of connectivity so it’s also a USB hub.

Each unit is built to order.

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7. Seagate eSATA external hard drive

Sports one of the most up-to-date data connections and 500GB of storage.

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8. Iomega Camo Ego hard drive

Check out the camouflage on this hard drive, the Iomega Camo Ego. It’s not just pretty colours either, as it has Drop Guard protection built in to protect data, plus a Power Grip band that is supposed to provide stability and extra durability.

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9. GigaBank 1TB hard drive

One terabyte of storage as two 500GB drives in an array, with some interesting curves on the body and stand.

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10. Anaconda 1TB hard drive

Not much to say about this drive, except to note the cool blue light swish on the front panel.

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11. LaCie Rugged XL hard drive

Definitely one for orange lovers who need rugged protection for their hard drive.

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12. Fabrik SimpleTech [re]drive

Offering Turbo USB 2.0 for 25% faster performance and an enclosure made from sustainable bamboo.

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