14 DAY TRIAL // Buffalo has been dealing in portable hard disk drives for quite some time, and it seems that its MiniStation collection has just welcomed several new members, all clad in similarly glossy enclosure and with capacities of 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB, respectively.
Portable hard disk drives, as opposed to regular 3.5-inch or even 2.5-inch units, always require a significant bit of 'polish' before being considered a viable marketing product.
When designing one, its maker must not only give it a good hardware, but also house it inside a chassis that is both durable and aesthetically-pleasing.
When it comes to performance, however, transfer speeds are mostly limited to what the USB or eSATA connection allows, and this makes the appearance and reliability even more important when browsing.
Buffalo, thus, developed the MiniStation HD-PCTU2, its latest series of portable HDDs which come in glossy and slim enclosures, for extra convenience and mobility.
The HD-PCTU2 measure exactly 77 x 14 x 114 mm and weigh just 165 grams, their other major asset being the eco Manager software.
This software can reduce the overall power consumption of the device by up to 20 percent, and this makes them especially advantageous when linked to laptops, as it will not drain the battery's power that quickly.
As for how they communicate with host PCs, the hard disk drives utilize the USB 2.0 connection, with a maximum data rate of 480 Mbps.
This may not be nearly on par with the 4.8 Gbps (5 Gbps) that the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard enables, but it allows for lower price points and, of course, compatibility with most PCs and other USB-equipped electronics.
Buffalo's latest MiniStation-branded units are expected to show up in Japan by next week, in capacities of 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB, respectively. Their prices will be of $119, $149 and $200, respectively.