LaCie Adds an International Design Excellence Award IDEA to its Long List of Achievements

For Immediate Release

LaCie Adds an International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) to its Long List of Achievements

PORTLAND, OR (July 2008) — LaCie announced today that its Little Disk family, designed by the world-renowned Sam Hecht, has won a Bronze award at this year’s International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) competition sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and BusinessWeek magazine. This latest design award presented by IDEA adds to LaCie’s collection of numerous international design awards from Red Dot and iF.

IDEA is a celebration of the most innovative and exciting product and product concept designs of the year. Out of 1517 entries, 35 were awarded the coveted Gold award, while 76 received Silver and 94 won Bronze. With increased international participation, 109 designs from 25 countries outside the US were given an IDEA Award, including France-based LaCie. All 205 winners with descriptions, photos and contacts will be featured on the IDSA web site www.idsa.org, beginning July 18.

The 2008 IDEA jury, comprised of 20 world-renowned designers and design thinkers, spent weeks previewing entries online and two-and-a-half days of intense, face-to-face evaluation and debate. Judging criteria for each entry is highly competitive and focuses on many areas of industrial design excellence including: design innovation; benefit to the user, client/business, and society; ecological responsibility; appropriate aesthetics and appeal; usability testing; rigor and reliability.

“This is LaCie’s first award from IDEA and we could not be any more excited,” said Eric Vermelle, LaCie Marketing Director. “IDEA is a coveted design competition that has eluded us for a long time. With the design of the Little Disk family, LaCie knew it had a potential winner with the sleek design and integrated USB cable. Available in multiple sizes and capacities the Little Disk family has an endless number of uses and applications.”

The LaCie Little Disk family consists of mobile hard disks and a portable DVD±RW drive with LightScribe. The hard disks come in three form factors that include a 1.3-inch USB 2.0 version available in capacities of 30 or 40 gigabytes, a 1.8-inch USB 2.0 version with 60 gigabytes, and 2.5-inch USB 2.0 or USB 2.0 and FireWire versions with capacities ranging from 80 to 500 gigabytes. Based on the concept of clean lines, the family features an elegant glossy finish and a thin, lightweight and compact form. With no feet, switches, or breaks in the finish, the Little Disk hard drives comes with an integrated USB cable, protected by a removable cap, that is used to power and transfer data without an additional power source.

Availability
The LaCie Little Disk family is available worldwide via LaCie’s specialized dealer network. For more product information, visit www.lacie.com.

About IDEA, Industrial Designers & IDSA
The IDEA program fosters business and public understanding about the impact of industrial design excellence on the quality of life and the economy. Industrial designers determine the form, use features and interaction qualities of manufactured products, packaging and digital media systems. They study people at work, at home and in motion to create satisfying experiences with products from the kitchen and the office to the hospital and the warehouse, shaping these to fit their customers and to make effective use of industrial processes. In this way, industrial designers have a quiet but profound presence in almost everything people encounter during the day. IDSA is the voice of industrial design, committed to advancing the profession through education, information, community and advocacy. Stay tuned to www.idsa.org/idea for information about the 2009 IDEA program. IDEA is co-sponsored by BusinessWeek and IDSA.

About Sam Hecht
Sam Hecht is an award winning UK-based industrial designer. He studied industrial design at the Royal College of Art in London. In 2002, he established Industrial Facility with his partner Kim Colin. Mr. Hecht has designed for Epson, Droog, Established & Sons, and Panasonic amongst others. He is also the retained designer to Muji Japan. For more information on Sam Hecht and Industrial Facility, please visit www.industrialfacility.co.uk.

About LaCie
Located in the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong, LaCie is the leading manufacturer of computer peripherals for PC, Apple and Linux users. LaCie creates external storage solutions and color monitors that help professionals and everyday users easily manage their digital lives. LaCie has differentiated its products through original designs and leading-edge technology. Established in France in 1989, LaCie is listed on Euronext under FR0000054314 (LAC). For more information, visit www.lacie.com.

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Contact LaCie
Press Inquiries: Ashley Jones, 503-844-4545, ajones@lacie.com
Sales Inquiries: Direct Sales, 503-844-4502, sales@lacie.com
Reseller Sales, 503-844-4500, sales@lacie.com

1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. Some capacity is used by the operating system for formatting and other functions. Total available capacity may appear as 5-10% less.