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LaCie unveils first USB-C mobile drive for the new MacBook

LaCie announced its Porsche Design Mobile Drive, which features a USB-C connector and will work natively with Apple's new MacBook. The drive will also work with existing computers' USB ports via an included adapter cable.

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.
Dong Ngo
2 min read

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The LaCie Mobile Drive features an enclosure made from 3mm-thick solid aluminum. LaCie

With the new 2015 MacBook, USB Type-C (USB-C) is going to take off. In fact, LaCie is the first storage vendor to announce an external hard drive that supports this connection type natively, the Porsche Design Mobile Drive.

The new drive is a portable drive, just like many others on the market. However, instead of having a Micro-USB 3.0 port, it features a USB-C port. This means, with a true USB-C cable (one that has a USB-C connector on both ends) the drive can connect to the new MacBook very easily. There is no need to worry about which end goes to which device or about plugging it in upside-down. (For more on USB-C, check out this post.)

The new drive will work with existing computers, too, via an adapter cable that has a USB-C connector on one end and the popular USB Type-A connector on the other.

LaCie says that the Mobile Drive supports the USB 3.0 standard and delivers up to 100MBps of copy speed. The drive features an enclosure made from 3mm-thick solid aluminum, making it both good-looking and rugged.

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The Mobile Drive will be available with up to 2TB of storage space. LaCie

The Mobile Drive will ship preformatted for Mac, but it will also work with Windows computers after being reformatted. Like all external hard drives, it supports Time Machine backup. While the drive was designed to match the new MacBook, it will also work with computers that have old USB ports (Type-A USB 2.0/3.0).

The new LaCie Mobile Drive is going to be available in 500GB (slim size), 1TB and 2TB capacities. It will include both a true USB-C cable and a compatible USB-C cable. The former has a USB-C connector on both ends and the other is a USB Type-A-to-USB-C cable. It's set to ship in the next quarter of the year with the pricing to be announced at that time. Check back then for its full review.