LaCie has expanded its range of biometric hard drives to offer a greater choice of capacities.

The ranges are 40-120GB for the Mobile Edition and 160-500GB for the Desktop Edition.

All the models use a USB 2.0 interface and are compatible with both Windows and Mac OS, and of course they all have the biometric feature that protects your data in conjunction with LaCie's software.

The Desktop Edition drives house a 7,200rpm drive. They measure 188 x 116 x 44mm (HxWxD), weigh 990g, and come in a choice of three capacities. The 160GB model has 8MB cache and costs £109, The 320GB version has 16MB cache and retails at £149, At the top of the tree is the 500GB, also with 16MB cache at £219

If you're on the move, you'll appreciate the pocket-sized Mobile Edition of the Safe which measures 138 x 80 x 25mm (HxWxD) and weighs 230g. The 80GB has a spin speed of 5,400rpm and costs £109, or you can have a larger 120GB version with a slower 4,200rpm speed for £129.

LaCie has also announced two SAFE Mobile drives with built-in encryption, which should reassure the more paranoid user. In the US the 80GB costs $219.99, which is a premium of $50 over the non-encryption SAFE, while the 120GB costs $299.99 - a premium of $20. ®