test conclusion
If you want cheap storage space, you should use an external hard drive. But not to the LaCie Mobile Drive. The currently best external hard drive, the Toshiba Canvio Advance (grade: 1.4) is faster and offers 4 terabytes of storage for 105 euros – four times as much as the LaCie, which costs 80 euros. The choice is clear.
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Slim and light
The LaCie is an external 2.5-inch HDD the size of a cigarette pack (8.5×11.8×1 centimeters). It weighs only 189 grams, but offers 931 gigabytes of storage space for documents, photos, videos and music.
The connection fits
So there is enough space, but what technology is in the LaCie? The hard drive docks with a version 3.2 Gen 1 USB-C connector. Theoretically, up to 10 gigabits per second are possible via the standard. The maximum speed is therefore 1.25 gigabytes per second. However, this is a theoretical value. One wonders how fast the LaCie is in practice.
No high flyer
When testing the maximum continuous transfer rate, COMPUTER BILD sent data from A to B over a longer period of time. In this test point, the LaCie achieved 120 megabytes per second (MB/s) when writing data and 119 MB/s when reading. That’s decent for a hard drive. Does the HDD deliver a similarly solid performance for large and medium files combined? The LaCie achieved an average of 120 MB/s when reading. Unfortunately, it falls behind when writing at 91.4 MB/s – and you can feel that when copying data from the computer to the HDD. The access times also leave a lot to be desired: the HDD averages 7.8 milliseconds (ms) when reading and 2.6 ms when writing. So it takes a while before, for example, a film starts from the LaCie.
Economical accessories
The included cable is 50 centimeters long and has a USB-C connector on both sides. Too bad: A USB type A adapter didn’t make it into the scope of delivery. This would allow the HDD to dock to PCs and notebooks with a USB-A socket. Users have to buy a USB type A adapter for 4 euros extra.
The LaCie Mobile Drive has a USB-C socket. Too bad: If you want to connect it to a USB-A device, you need an adapter for 4 euros.
Lacie Mobile Drive in the test: the conclusion
If you want cheap storage space, you should use an external hard drive. But not to the LaCie Mobile Drive. The currently best external hard drive, the Toshiba Canvio Advance (grade: 1.4), is faster and offers 4 terabytes of storage for 105 euros – four times as much as the LaCie, which costs 80 euros. The choice is clear.