Storage manufacturer LaCie announced this morning the release of a new 500GB rugged hard drive, the company's "largest capacity single-disk mobile product." The simply named LaCie Rugged Hard Disk is a Hitachi Travelstar 5K500, 2.5-inch disk enclosed within a casing made of rubber bumpers, with internal anti-shock absorbers and shock-resistant metal. It's designed by company favorite Neil Poulton.

"The Rugged Hard Disk is one of LaCie's most popular products and has been so for a number of years," said the company's mobile product manager, Nolwenn Rozen. "We recently upgraded capacity to 320GB, and now with recent innovations, we are able to increase it again. With all LaCie products, we will continue to push the envelope on capacity as technology permits."

The drive is available with USB 2.0, FireWire 400, or FireWire 800 connectivity and comes bundled with LaCie Setup Assistant. Users can pick it up now at the company's site for a starting price of $299.99