Buffalo Technology MiniStation 250 GB with encryption

Buffalo has made a return to our round-up of external hard drives with the MiniStation 250 GB.  It's not exactly the smallest example we've ever seen, so don't expect to be able to fit into your pocket.

On the other hand, it does have some other advantages, including a stylish design and the ability to encrypt your data.  It comes in three colours, black, white and red.

The outside is in glossy plastic, but the bottom has a matte surface with two strips of a material designed to prevent the drive sliding off your desk if you move it too quickly.  We can't really complain about the finish: the case doesn't rattle or slip.

The only way to get data to and from your computer is using USB, with no other connectivity options included.  However, the cable is built into the case: the upside is that you won't forget to take it with you, and as it's about four inches long, it's perfect for a laptop.  However, it's a lot less handy for desktop computers, especially if you have to leave the drive hanging from a USB port.  We tried it out, and it doesn't have a negative impact on the data transfer speeds.

Speeds: Pretty average

Samsung S2 Portable 500 GB Buffalo Technology MiniStation 250 GB with encryption

Like with the Samsung S2 Portable 500 GB, it takes around 43 seconds to copy 1 GB of data to this drive and around 30 seconds to read the same files back.  These are average results.

Turbo USB boosts speed

Samsung S2 Portable 500 GB Buffalo Technology MiniStation 250 GB with encryption

Buffalo has included a Turbo USB feature that improves speeds by around 20%, which allows the MiniStation to climb to the top of the table for USB-based external hard drives.  Unfortunately, though, you probably won't be able to get such good results everywhere, as it relies on software, and you're not likely to install it on all of the computers that you use the drive with.