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LaCie unveils Blade Runner external hard drive

LaCie showed off at CES 2013 an external hard drive that either screams weird or carries a bold statement, depending on your mood.

Dong Ngo SF Labs Manager, Editor / Reviews
CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.
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Dong Ngo
The LaCie Blade Runner external hard drive being shown at CES 2013.
The LaCie Blade Runner external hard drive is being shown at CES 2013. Dong Ngo/CNET

LAS VEGAS--Looking for a one-of-a-kind storage device? LaCie has one for you.

The storage vendor unveiled today at CES 2013 a new USB 3.0 external hard drive, called the Blade Runner, that either screams crazy, or shows off as a statement piece, depending on your mood. LaCie says the drive is designed to look more like a piece of art than a storage device. And it indeed doesn't look like any external drives I've seen before.

The Blade Runner comes in a super-rugged all-aluminum body that is squared but not smooth. The body is designed to look like multiple thin blades cutting through a large potato in the middle. At first glance, the drive somewhat resembles a part of a car radiator. Looking closer, nobody can tell what it looks like. And that is the point.

LaCie says the Blade Runner makes a bold statement when having it on the desk. Only 9,999 units of the drive are made.
LaCie says the Blade Runner makes a bold statement. Only 9,999 units of the drive are made. Dong Ngo/CNET

The artsy aspect aside, the drive's body also works as a heat-sink to keep itself cool. The drive is relatively light for how big it is and considering all the metal used in the making of it. On the inside, the Blade Runner houses a 4TB high-speed hard drive. On the bottom it comes with one USB 3.0 port and a power connector.

LaCie says each unit of the Blade Runner is custom-built to "ensure superb form and function." The drive comes with 10GB of free Wuala online storage and is available soon after CES 2013 for $330.