LaCie Fuel review: Fast and capable, but not new

Despite the completely new squarish look, on the inside the Fuel is basically the same as the Wireless Plus, from features to function, and even battery life. For this reason, the new device marks the first product collaboration between the two companies since Seagate acquired LaCie back in 2012. Others might wonder why the Fuel is made at all, since it has nothing new compared to its Seagate counterpart.

But having more options is hardly a bad thing, and for those on the market for a mobile storage device to expand the limited capacity of their iPad -- or any mobile devices for that matter -- the LaCie Fuel is another great choice at the estimated cost of $199. For other equally great battery-operated, Wi-Fi-based mobile storage solutions, check out this list.

Totally different look, same features set
The LaCie Fuel looks like no other mobile storage devices I've seen before. For the most part, it takes the square shape of a floor title that measures just 4.5 inches on each side and about 0.9-inch thick. At one corner, it tapers into a pointed head that has a hole, making it looks like a gigantic square pendant. LaCie says the design is supposed to resemble the look of a jerrycan which is a little far-fetched from the Fuel's look.

Compared to the Wireless Plus, the Fuel is slightly bulkier, though at 9.7 ounces it weighs about the same. While the Wireless Plus comes with a modular design that permits you to swap in adapters to make it compatible with different connection types, such as USB, FireWire, or even Thunderbolt, the Fuel comes with just one Micro-USB 3.0 port. This port can be used for charging with the included USB cable and power adapter, or to connect the device to a computer. When connected to a computer, apart from charging, the Fuel will now work as a portable bus-powered hard drive.

When disconnected from a computer, you can use the power button on its side to turn it on or off as a Wi-Fi mobile storage device. The Fuel basically expands the generally limited storage space of your mobile device, such as a tablet or a smartphone. Mobile devices (up to five of them at a time) can also connect to the Fuel's Wi-Fi network, and can then use its included 1TB of internal storage space as their own, either to play back content from it or to back up data on to it.

In all, the Fuel is exactly the same as the Wireless Plus in terms of functionality.

Well-designed mobile app, limited playback media types
What makes the Fuel all the more similar to the Wireless Plus is the fact that it uses the same Seagate Mobile app, which is available for iOS, Android, and Amazon's Kindle Fire. Now at the version 2.5.0.10, the app is a lot more refined than what it was when I reviewed the Wireless Plus. That makes the Fuel really a pleasant to use (and you'll have about the same experience with the Wireless Plus once you have updated the app and its firmware.)

The app automatically categorizes content stored on the Fuel into five category including Videos, Photos, Music, Documents and Recent, which shows content that has been recently played. In addition, you can also quickly search for what you want. In my trial, the app worked very well and was smooth and responsive. It took a very short time for an HD movie to start playing.

That's if the movie is supported by the mobile device natively. As with the Wireless Plus, as well as other mobile storage devices, except for video content made specifically for the mobile platform, I couldn't stream anything else using the Seagate Media mobile app, including popular formats for HD videos, such as Matroska and Xvid. To stream unsupported media types, you need to use third-party apps, and might have to first download the file to the mobile device before you can play it back, which would defeat the purpose of the Fuel, which is as storage expansion.

Smart power, backup and Internet sharing supported
The Fuel is slated to offer as much as 10 hours of battery life, but only if you use its smart power feature. Using the app, you can make the device work in the Eco mode, basically turning off features that are useful mostly when used at home, including the ability to work as a mini NAS server -- sharing file via the SAMBA protocol to connected computers -- and the support for DLNA streaming.

On the go, the Fuel is most likely used via the Seagate Mobile app, which works well. Apart from hosting content for playing back, you can also back up user-generated content, such as videos and photos shot by your iPad or iPhone, to it. And when you're at a hotel, the Fuel can also connect to other Wi-Fi networks to bring Internet access to devices connected to its own Wi-Fi network. In my trial, it can connect to essentially any Wi-Fi network, including those that require a password or log-in. This feature makes it a great companion that will help save money when you're staying at a hotel where Wi-Fi access is charged per connected client.

Fast performance
At heart, the Fuel is a USB 3.0 portable drive, and when used as one, it was versatile. The device is preformatted in exFAT file system and that means it works with both Mac and Windows machine right out of the box with no restriction on file size.

In my testing it was also very fast, offering some 105MBps for writing and 107MBps for reading, when used with USB 3.0. This weren't the highest numbers I've seen but on par with other USB portable drives.

CNET Labs external hard drive USB 3.0 performances Scores
(In MPB per second; longer bars indicate better performance)

Toshiba Canvio Slim II

118.49

118.8

Seagate Slim

111.49

110.4

Seagate Wireless Plus

109.75

109.5

WD My Passport Slim

107.89

107.7

LaCie Fuel

106.89

104.7

Corsair Voyager Air

107.45

104.6

When used with USB 2.0, it was also very fast at 28MBps for writing and 33MBps for reading, topping the chart.

CNET Labs USB 2.0 external hard drive performance scores
(In MB per second; longer bars indicate better performance)

LaCie Fuel

33.47

28.4

Seagate GoFlex Satellite

32.7

28.8

Corsair Voyager Air

32.67

26.5

Patriot Aero

32.5

26.4

Seagate Wireless Plus

31.77

28.3

G-Technology G-Connect

31.3

30.9

Kingston Wi-Drive

17.8

9.1

This means you can quickly load a lot of content on to the Fuel before your long road trip. As a mobile storage device, the device indeed offered very long battery life, roughly 10 hours in my trial. This varies, however, depending on how much you use it and with how many devices. I tried it with just an iPad and an iPhone at the same time.

Conclusion
The LaCie Fuel doesn't do anything to really outdo the Wireless Plus but, still, it makes a great alternative. For example, if you like the layout of the Seagate Media app -- which you should since it's about the best among apps for mobile storage devices -- but prefer something of a more radical design, the Fuel will fit the bill perfectly.

However, if you're already happy with your Wireless Plus or the Corsair Voyager Air, there's no need to make any changes at all.