What do you get when you cross a radiator with an external hard drive? Probably something like the LaCie Blade Runner. The limited edition (just 9,999 will be made) Blade Runner external hard drive is one serious chunk of metal. The drive, designed by Phillippe Starck, looks essentially like a large heat sink with an amorphous shape at its center. Along one side is a "+" button--Starck's trademark symbol--that glows amber when the drive is on.
Made of aluminum, the 5.6 x 7.6 x 2.9-inch drive weighs a hefty 4.4 pounds, which is more than a lot of notebooks. Inside is a 4TB 5,400-rpm hard drive, and concealed in the bottom is a USB 3.0 port and a power plug. The drive, which costs $299, also comes with one year of 10GB of cloud storage from Wuala.
We like the industrial design of the Blade Runner. The sharp angles of the fins contrast nicely with the smooth, flowing shape in the center. Despite its weight, the various shadows that it creates will make you want to turn it every which way. Just don't drop it on your foot.
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