14 DAY TRIAL // There is a new external hard drive unit in town, one that does not place as much stock on raw capacity as it does on programmability.
The Buffalo DriveStation HD-LS1.5U2J, according to Hermitage Akihabara, has a capacity of 1.5TB.
It connects to a PC via USB 2.0 and will start shipping in Japan this month (February, 2012), for 18,690 JPY (US $242 / 183.02 Euro).
Its most relevant asset is that it allows a PC to program a time when it should start recording TV broadcasts. The recording process commences even if the PC is turned off.
While not in use, a low-power state is initiated, during which energy consumption is reduced by 97%. As for when the PC connection is active, but the drive itself is idle, eCOManager software slows down the platters.