Every so often we get something through our door that defies the norm. It could be the latest and greatest device or something so radically expensive it comes accompanied with a pair of ex-sumo wrestler bodyguards. More often than not, though, it's the design of the device that makes it stand out from the crowd.
The Lacie Christofle Sphere is, at first glance, more of a desktop ornament than technical product. However, this isn't just a work of art; it's also a 1TB, USB 3.0 external drive, which is why it's in this group and not in a copy of House & Home.
Let's get the design aspect out of the way first. The Lacie Christofle Sphere is a silver-plated, hand-crafted steel sphere from French designer Christofle, who apparently is a pretty big deal in its native country.
It is very fetching, that much we have to hand to Lacie. The highly polished surface looks pretty natty next to the latest MacBook, and thanks to a flattened bottom, it sits comfortably on the surface of a desk without risk of it rolling off.
The bottom of the drive hides a recessed mini USB 3.0 port, where you'll naturally plug in the single power and data cable. Amusingly, the included cable is a standard-looking, one-metre, black cable, which when plugged into the Sphere looks exceedingly out of place and more like an afterthought of 'Oh yeah, how are we going to power this thing?'
Read and write speeds for our 1GB file came to 108MB/S read and 90MB/S, write which aren't brilliant, but in all honesty if you own one of these, then the chances are you're the sort of person who cares little for how long it takes for a file to copy over.
The Lacie Desktop Manager software that comes with the Sphere is competent enough and includes a backup manager, one that will automatically back up your data every set number of hours; an Eco mode that will save up to 90% of the energy used in standby; and folder level AES 256-bit encryption. It's a complete enough package and for the most part very easy to use.
The Lacie Christofle Sphere is an okay external hard drive, but there are a few things we need to address. The first is the fact that it costs £370 (you do get free shipping from Lacie, though). The second is, although an amazing-looking device, you'll struggle to keep it looking shiny and reflective. As soon as you remove it from the box, even with clean hands, fingerprints will begin to appear on the polished surface and generally ruin the visual appeal. Okay, so it's not a big deal, but considering this is an item of high-value technology art, you'll need to keep a cloth nearby for emergency polishings.
Clearly this isn't your average external hard drive. Yes it looks fab and would no doubt be splendid adorning the desktops of trendy city offices, but for us normal (or maybe just seminormal) folk, it's an indulgence that really isn't worth the cost.