Register Hardware

Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/08/09/buffalo_minianddrivestations/

Buffalo's USB HDDs get bigger, faster

By James Sherwood
Published Thursday 9th August 2007 13:50 GMT

Buffalo Technology has launched two new external hard drives, with storage capacities ranging up to 1 Terabyte. The MiniStation and DriveStation models also include a USB Turbo feature to help boost data transfer rates.

The MiniStation model is available in capacities of 80, 120, 160 and 250GB, while the DriveStation offers more grown-up capacities of 320GB, 500GB, 750GB or 1TB.

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The Buffalo DriveStation

Buffalo claims its Turbo USB function can increase performance by up to 60 per cent over other USB-connected hard drives. Both hard drives operate on Windows and Macs and are also plug-n-play based, which the manufacturer said allows them to be connected to any device with a USB, including desktops and notebooks, or to its own Network Attached Storage devices.

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The Buffalo MiniStation

The MiniStation is designed as a portable data keep-safe, say when you're travelling from your home to the office. It also includes shock resistance features and a wrap-around cable for added portability. It ships with software to prevent unauthorised data access.

The DriveStation is designed as more of a permanent desktop feature for heavy-duty storage. It has a shutdown scheduling feature, which may help save a little on your energy bills, and an auto on/off function that shuts the drive down when your connected device is switched off.

The MiniStation will be available at the end of August, costing around $100 for the 80GB model, $120 for the 120GB model, $150 for the 160GB model and $220 for the 250GB model. The DriveStation will be available from early September, costing around $130 for the 320GB model, $170 for the 500GB model, $340 for the 750GB model and $500 for the 1TB model.

Last month, Buffalo also unveiled an external HDD for the Mac (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/07/16/buffalo_mac_hdd/) that it claimed is able to offer better-than-USB data-transfer rates and a storage capacity ranging up to 1TB. No word has yet been given on European release dates or prices.