First-Ever External USB 3.0 Hard Drive Presented by Buffalo

Since early this year, hardware experts and the enthusiasts among end-users have been anxious to see the USB 3.0 out in the open, eager to test its capabilities and see whether the alleged 10 times faster data transfer was for real. Although motherboards with this technology are still quite hard to come by, other products using the 3.0 interface have begun to show up. So far, however, USB 3.0 releases have consisted mostly of flash drives. Buffalo finally managed to finish work on the world's first-ever USB 3.0 external hard drive, the HD-HXU3.

This addition to the storage segment comes as a nice surprise, considering the rumors that such products weren't going to hit the shelves before CES 2010. Buffalo's HD-HXU3 can reach the already infamous speeds ten times faster than those of the USB 2.0 and comes in three “sizes” (three different storage capabilities), namely 1TB, a 1.5TB unit and one with 2TB of memory.

All the drives are compatible with PCs and Macs and, theoretically, the maximum transfer speeds should be around 130MB/s, ideal for the management of programs that heavily utilize bandwidth, such as CAD or video-editing software. This speed actually places the USB 3.0 on par with the current, most popular connectivity solutions, namely eSATA and FireWire.

“The new DriveStation HD-HXU3 combines both USB 3.0 performance, and the latest hard disk technology to give consumers the fastest, and most reliable solution on the market,” Buffalo Technology’s Sales VP, Ralph Spagnola, said in a statement. “The DriveStation HD-HXU3 delivers on Buffalo’s ongoing commitment in delivering high quality, robust storage solutions to meet the high demands of today’s consumers.”

Among other features of the unit are the TurboUSB technology, which allows for its high transfer rates, and the ability to operate in the Eco Friendly Power Saving Mode (PC only). Those who are interested in the HD-HXU3 will be pleased to hear that the HDD is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and, for convenience, the company has also made available USB 3.0 PCI Express expansion cards for an easy upgrade.

The new glossy, black hard drives come with the Memeo AutoBackup software for reliability, and the 1TB, 1.5TB and the 2TB models are respectively priced at $200, $250 and $400. Complete information on the product may be found here.