I've had a chance to try a 500GB model from SimpleTech's colorful slew of new hard drives, which are all housed in dramatically redesigned chassis, and mostly I liked what I found.
The stylish, sloping case is by Italian design firm Paninfarina, perhaps better known as the primary designer for Ferrari automobiles.
The 500GB drive is made of shiny, piano-black plastic, and has a USB 2.0 port and a large, easy-to-operate rocker-style power switch at the rear. One observation: The design is optimized for use horizontally, not vertically--something which wouldn't bother me if I wanted to play the drive on top of my desktop chassis, but I might find a tad annoying if I needed to carve out real estate for the drive on my already-crowded desk.
On the top surface rests a large, oval back-up surrounded by an LED ring that doubles as a capacity gauge (broken up in quarters, it lights up when you first turn the drive on); on the sides, the fanless chassis has ventilation ports to dissipate heat.
