The Buffalo hard drive looks similar to other external hard drive products. The design is straight-forward, based on a rather simple, black plastic enclosure. It carries an ATA-to-USB bridge as well as a modern hard drive, the manufacturer of which may vary based on what Buffalo has available.

We found a Samsung MP0402H in our 40 GB test sample, which carries the product name HD-PH40U2. We liked the fact that the package tells you the speed of the hard disk, which is a 5,400 RPM model; these work clearly faster than other models at slower rotation speeds. Although USB 2.0 usually does not allow net transfer rates of above 30 MB/s, a fast hard drive helps sustain high transfer rates, while minimum transfer rates remain acceptable.

There are only two interface connectors on the unit: one mini USB connector and a power connector. As you can see, while Buffalo avoids the requirement for a power supply, the jack is still there if you want or need it.

The drive weighs approximately 5.3 oz, while the Power Booster is another 1.8 oz, and the USB cable a further 1.2 oz. Altogether it is about half a pound, which is still an acceptable total for a portable hard drive product.