I know some refuse to deal with refurb drives. These may even just be discontinued - who knows... but for $50 for a 500GB external - not bad! If you are curious, it looks like these are standard SATA drives and aren't integrated with USB directly. So you can rip them out of the case if you wish.

[www.lacie.com]

500GB LaCie Starck Mobile USB 2.0 - 5400 RPM (RECON)

Its sturdy 2mm of aluminum casing keeps the LaCie Starck from overheating, and helps it to be very resistant, enhancing its overall dependability. The polished aluminum exterior is stylish and tough, but also light enough to transport, making the LaCie Starck both completely chic and completely mobile.
Item Number: 301892-R
RECONDITONED - 90 DAY WARRANTY
Designed by Philippe Starck
2mm of resistant aluminum casing
Use it everywhere; embedded USB cable
Intuitive automatic backup software



according to this teardown, [www.flickr.com] there are Seagate drives installed...

that case looks like an update version of a lacie I got about 4 years ago, with the short usb cord built in. I've found it quite convenient. Was $50 new at that time on some newegg coupon, I think.

the prices from the linked overview page all increase upon clicking on the individual product pages and in the cart. Did you complete a purchase? [Edit: if you add to car directly from the page hal linked to price stays the same]

$75 for the 1TB portable seems like a great deal, though from the photos it looks to not be a 9.5mm drive inside (the 500gb version is slimmer)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2012 02:54PM by thermarest.

yes, if you go for one of those 1TB drives, it WON'T be 9.5mm and it may not be 12.5mm either - seagate makes some 14mm drives for use in externals and will not fit ANY apple laptop ever made

Do not buy refurb hard drives.

Modern hard drives have such short life-expectancies, why would you buy one that's already got time shaved off of it?