14 DAY TRIAL // Buffalo has a long history of launching various storage solutions, whether optical disk drives, external desk drives or portable hard drives. The latest plan it has unveiled is of the third type and, though it has not yet come to fruition, will soon materialize into a new line of hard disks. Said product family goes by the name of HDS-PXU2 and should prove most useful to end-users interested in keeping their files safe and sound at all times.
HDS-PXU2 has a glossy black enclosure and measures 90 (W) x 20 (H) x 134 (D) mm. Inside, it can cram a capacity of up to 320GB, 500GB or 1TB. Furthermore, it communicates with host PCs via the USB 2.0 interface and even comes with its own wrap-around cable. The device also features an internal shock-absorbing system which confers a measure of impact resistance. This should allow it to survive mild drops in case the non-slip silicone band on the back fails to actually prevent the drop from happening.
With the physical resistance aspect out of the way, Buffalo was able to focus on the virtual security side as well. As such, it went ahead and implemented automatic, hardware-based AES 256-bit encryption, which should prevent stored data from being accessed without authorization. Furthermore, the bundled Eco Management software will reduce power usage by up to 30%, making sure that the 'green factor' is covered as well. All in all, the newcomer will become a competent on-the-go solution when it finally starts shipping, in Japan, at the end of the ongoing month.
Buffalo's HDS-PXU2 320GB, 500GB and 1TB versions will bear price tags of $166, $214 and $311, respectively. They will likely act as successors to the popular MiniStation series, which has similar security features and got a 1TB member of its own back in May.