LaCie Mirror
You’d need two for RAID 1
Hard disks are never the most exciting devices, but LaCie works hard to come up with unusual designs that make their hard drives a bit more interesting. In the past they’ve produced hard drives that look like silvery spheres and metallic sculptures, and now they’ve come up with the eye-catching Mirror.
It’s entirely covered on all sides with gleaming, reflective glass and is relatively chunky when compared to some of the latest portable drives. However, it only weighs 230g, so it’s still slim and light enough to slip into a backpack with no trouble at all.
You don’t have to worry about dropping it, as LaCie has used tough Corning Gorilla Glass to protect the screen. The only things it can’t seem to resist are sticky finger marks, but LaCie includes a cleaning cloth with the Mirror. There’s also a carrying pouch and even a smart little ebony stand for when you want to sit the Mirror on your desk.
The drive’s performance is respectable enough, with the USB 3.0 interface averaging around 100MB/s for both read and write speeds. That’s not going to break any records, but it’s in line with a number of other portable drives we’ve tested recently. LaCie also bundles some handy backup and encryption software too.
The only real drawback is the price – it’s seriously expensive, with 1TB of storage costing a hefty £209. To be honest, it’s more of a fashion statement than a computer accessory – but then that’s always been part of the Mac’s appeal, and the Mirror drive will certainly look great sitting on your desk alongside your super-slimline MacBook and your Apple Watch. Cliff Joseph
£209 Manufacturer LaCie, www.lacie.com
Capacity 1TB Connectivity USB 3.0 Weight 230g Dimensions 8x12.8x1.3cm