We have seen the future and it is USB 3.0. Back in February, www.PDNGearGuide.com did one of the first editorial tests on transferring images to storage devices via USB 3.0. And while we found that this so-called SuperSpeed connection might not quite live up to the hype, it was a marked improvement over USB 2.0. (To see the story, visit this URL: http://bit.ly/bHlHca)

Now USB 3.0 is making its way into the portable storage market. LaCie has begun offering its signature mobile drive—the LaCie Rugged—as a USB 3.0 model. LaCie is claiming the Rugged USB 3.0 offers transfer speeds of up to 110 mb/s and if it's anywhere near that, this tough little hard drive should make a lot of photographers happy.

In fact, most photographers we know already carry one of these sleek scratch-resistant drives with the orange shock-absorbent padding on the edges with them already. So if you're looking for a new traveling companion, moving up to the USB 3.0 model is a no-brainer. The only major downside is that there are still very few computers out there right now that support USB 3.0. That will certainly change in the years to come though.

Meanwhile, the LaCie Rugged 3.0 is backwards compatible towards any USB-connected computer. You can also upgrade your current machine with the supplied USB 3.0 PCIe card. And the Rugged really lives up to its name: It's drop resistant for up to 2.2 meters. Fast and durable. Now that's a combo we can get behind.

Cost: $150 (500 gb capacity)

Further information: www.lacie.com