Core77

Hard drives aren't often pieces of hardware that evoke excess attention or kudos, but these recent entries by Fabrik are getting the kind of raves usually reserved for cell phones and sneakers, and we'd have to say it's probably justified.

Designed by LA-based Stuart Karten Design (SKD), the SimpleTech SimpleDrive updates the previous Pininfarina-designed version that evoked so many oohs and ahhs when it came out last year. Depending on your aesthetic instincts though, this one's maybe even nicer, with a pared down organic shape that minimizes part count and works the vertical-or-horizontal-mounting trend of the past few years to great effect.

The media darling of the moment, though, has got to be the [re]drive, also by SKD. Yes, we've seen electronics wrapped in bamboo before, and we've rolled our eyes and muttered "greenwashing" under our breath, but this looks to be the real green deal--the metal portion of the 500GB drive is recycled aluminum, and the super-sweet randomly crinkled side panel serves as a heat sink that obviates the need for a fan. The drive auto-powers up and down with your computer, has an Energy Star rating for low consumption, and ships in recycled packaging with installation instructions printed on the box.

So why did we wait til now to blog these guys when Gizmodo mentioned them a month ago? According to SKD, both drives have recently been picked up by megabox retailer Best Buy, taking it out of the realm of gimmick and into something that might show up on your co-workers desk next week. And we're glad.