fragile construction backed by terrible service

I bought this hard drive 15 1/2 months ago to port data between stand-alone computers and as a light device while traveling to computer-equipped workplaces. It looks nice, with anotherwise dull square design compensated by a colorful, globe-patterned cover. The cover is made of a molded, seamless rubber-like raised plastic that makes the disk easy to handle. This cover is a liability in two ways, though. First, it makes it impossible for the manufacturer to affix a reliable product number. Second, it would presumably make it extremely difficult to disassemble and repair the disk.
The disk fits easily in the hand, but does not fit in a standard shirt pocket and would be bulky in a trouser pocket; I kept it in a secure bag instead. Unlike some similar offerings, the LaCie drive comes without a pouch or carry case. The weight is just short of 100g or about 0.22 lbs.
The technical characteristics of the drive were adequate at the time of purchase, though they are subpar as of writing: 60 GB capacity in a 3.3"*3.3 format (about 8.4 cm on each side), with a declared 4200 RPM and 7.14 ms average latency. There are smaller and faster portable drives around nowadays, including more compact 1.8" models.
The drive is powered via the USB port, which adds convenience but is battery-consumer. Even without extensive drive access, the battery on my laptop drew down at over twice the regular rate when the LaCie was attached to it. Unlike some other manufacturers' drives of similar size, the LaCie does not come with the option of powering the drive separately from the host system - all power must come from the host via the USB cable.
The USB cable in question also appears to be the drive's Achilles' heel. It is very short (less than 2 " / a little over 4.5 cm). The drive comes with an extension cable of about 25" / 67 cm that is fine for use around a laptop but may be too short for use from a desktop computer, especially if it is a model with USB ports at the back only.
The connection between the drive and the shorter cable looks flimsy, and this concerned me when I received the drive. This appears to be the source of the subsequent breakdown of the drive. After about 15 months, the drive continued to light up when connected, but the data connection failed - rendering the drive inaccessible from any computer.
This is when my adventures in LaCie service started. I bought the drive and reside in a country where LaCie announces a two-year warranty (though the warranty seems to be only for one year in the U.S.). In any case, I requested information about a possible repair of the drive. I received automated answers (easy for the manufacturer and useless); then a request to try the drive on another port and PC (already done); then a request for registration information (which was redundant since I bought the drive directly from LaCie's website and LaCie knew it). And in the three weeks since... nothing, despite three reminders on the online support system and attempts to reach the company via e-mail and telephone (incidentally, I found that the support number listed on LaCie's website is not even connected).
As it were I did not lose data in this failure, but given the sensitivity of data and the importance to most users of having the chance to repair a faulty connection or otherwise retrieve data, and given that the drive is under warranty, this strikes me as simply abysmal service and a breach of contract.
Caveat emptor.