When it comes to portable hard drives, we don’t normally think of a large four legged animal that resembles a wooly ox to be one of the usual suspects. Questionable tech company naming aside, Buffalo has been around since 1975 and provides a wide range of wireless networking products. The Japanese based company also creates a range of storage, memory and multimedia devices. Buffalo sent along their MiniStation 320GB TurboUSB Portable Hard Drive, a portable hard drive that features a shock proof enclosure and a utility that boosts performance up to 64% over standard 4200 RPM drives. Let’s check it out!

Features and Specifications

• Dimensions (WxHxD in.) 5 x 0.8 x 3.3
• Weight (lbs) 0.42
• Power Consumption (Watts) Max. 2.5 W
• Operating Environment (Fahrenheit) 41-95°
• Setup Utility OS Support Windows®Vista, Windows®XP, Windows®2000, Windows®Me, MacOS®
  9.0, Mac OS® X
• Client OS Support Windows®Vista, Windows®XP, Windows®2000
• Power Supply n/a (Power supplied through USB)

The MiniStation comes from a family of five drives that range in size from 120 GB to 500 GB. A mentioned, it features TurboUSB Data Transfer Rates that boast up to 64% faster transfer rate than standard 4200 RPM drives and is housed in a shock resistant chassis.  Inside is 5400 RPM Hard Drive and Supports USB 2.0 and 1.1. The drive is fully Plug-n-Play, USB Powered, and features a convenient wrap around USB cable which saves space and reduces clutter.

What’s In The Box?

Inside the box, you of course get the drive itself, including your standard documentation and software CD that contains the included Memo Backup Software and SecureLockWare Security software. The wrap around USB cable comes unattached and is also present. You also get an additional USB cable that allows you to squeeze juice from another USB Port. This can be an issue with some older systems or systems that have anemic USB ports.

First Impressions

The MiniStation 320GB drive features a shock resistant casing that allows you breathe a sigh of relief if your drive hits the pavement. The drive is suspended inside with shock absorbing blocks which translated into a slight squishy feeling in the casing. I did drop it a few times, sort of on purpose, but if squishy keeps the drive intact, then I’m OK with squishy. Unlike other drives on the market, I really loved how the USB cable simply wraps around the casing, keeping things tidy.

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