Apr 27, 2011 12:10 GMT  ·  By

Buffalo is just one of many suppliers of storage solutions on the IT market but, as all its rivals and peers, it has its share of features and technologies that it can add to new devices, something made clear by the newest portable HDDs it developed.

Some years ago, the HDD industry was mostly made up of companies that dealt in those things that most users can find on the inside of their desktops and, later, laptops.

Nowadays, hard drives come in a bunch of other forms, especially in portable or just external versions.

More specifically, there are hard disk drive units that communicate with host PCs via USB or eSATA interfaces.

Both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form factors exist, as well as a newer and much lighter and thinner 1.8-inch size.

In other words, such hardware aided flash drives in almost completely eliminating CDs from the minds of today's consumers, although DVDs and Blu-ray disks continue to show their worth as means of promoting multimedia, among other things.

Buffalo is one company that makes external hard disks, portable or not so much, like the MiniStation collection.

Composed of 2.5-inch units, the line now received two new members, those being named the HD-PNTU2 series and featuring capacities of 500 GB and 1 TB.

For those that want more specifics, they use USB 2.0 ports and have shock-absorbing systems reliant on springs and internal cushions on the inside of the case.

The 500 GB one weighs 190 grams and measures 118 x 82 x 16/19 mm, while the other one has the same size but is heavier (220 grams).

As for the design, Buffalo went for a glossy finish and multiple color options (black, red and silver).

Bundled with data transfer, backup and encryption software tools, the Buffalo MiniStation HD-PNTU2 USB 2.0 HDDs should start shipping by the end of next month (May, 2011), at $129 (500 GB) and $177 (1 TB).