Buffalo -- Engadget

Buffalo adds Ministation Metro to its external HDD lineup

by Vladislav Savov, posted Jun 26th 2009 at 4:04AM

The Ministation Metro, coming in a variety of tastefully named colors, such as Black Crystal, represents a continuation of Buffalo's recent efforts to beautify its portable hard drive offerings. The drive's design is highlighted by a handily integrated USB cable that sits flush with the Metro's externals when not in use. It's also noteworthy that this latest entry in Buffalo's Ministation series looks remarkably similar (i.e. identical) to the recently announced HD-PXU2 in Japan. We can only surmise that the company believes the term Metro carries more positive connotations with Western consumers than the otherwise catchy jumble of letters and digits. Capacity choices range all the way up to 500GB, and the new drives are expected to reach American and British shores in August, with a US price somewhere in the vicinity of $200 for the most capacious models.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Buffalo's 16GB 5mm USB Thumbkey: It's really small

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jun 24th 2009 at 6:58PM

This isn't the first time Buffalo's blown our minds with its lilliputian tech. The WiFi dongle, you have to admit, was pretty sweet. What can we say about the 5mm Thumbkey drive? For starters, it's really small. And it has a 16GB capacity. And it''ll cost you about $136 when it goes on sale (any day now). Sure, that's a tad pricey for a device that lacks gears and rubies -- but did we mention how small this thing is?

[Via OhGizmo!]

Buffalo BSH4A02 USB hub loves switches, hates vampires

by Tim Stevens, posted Jun 17th 2009 at 8:27AM

Vampires don't just inhabit the night and your AC power strips. They come in USB flavors, too, and so far only Buffalo seems to be doing anything about them and their wasteful ways, introducing the charmingly-named BSH4A02 four-port USB hub. It sports one switch per plug, making it easy for you to put a stake in your smartphone's battery maintenance cycle, comes in three colors, hits Japan this October for ¥3,885 (about $40), and includes an AC adapter to power itself -- making us wonder if this thing doesn't have a bit of the undead in it as well. Perhaps Buffalo will call it "Blade" and give it some cool sunglasses before a US release.

[Via GadgetReview]

CSIRO's patent lawsuits conclude with the final 13 companies settling

by Ross Miller, posted Apr 22nd 2009 at 12:53AM

Looks like CSIRO's legal days are over -- for the moment, at least. Having already reached an agreement with HP, the Australian government-funded research firm announced this week that it's settled with the remaining 13 companies it sued for patent infringement, claiming it owned the rights to 802.11a/g. For those who haven't been keeping track at home, that includes Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Nintendo, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Netgear, Buffalo, D-Link, Belkin, SMC, Accton, and 3Com. The details of any of the settlements are undisclosed, but as iTnews reports, it's expected CSIRO ended up with some substantial monies now that the dust has settled. Chief Executive Dr. Megan Clark noted that it'll continue to "defend its intellectual property," so if you're a high profile tech company who creates WiFi-equipped gadgets and hasn't been served a lawsuit yet, we don't blame you for being a little nervous right now.

Dice speakers sure to be a fashion gamble

by Laura June, posted Mar 23rd 2009 at 6:47PM

Buffalo's just unleashed some portable little iPod speakers that you might want to try to get your hands on. With an output of one hot watt, the Dice speaker series is sure to turn your morning commute into a tiny, slightly louder micro-party in an instant -- or, at the very least, it'll cool up your look a few notches. They'd make a perfect gift for the gambling addict in your life, too, but sadly, they're going to be a Japan-only release when they come out sometime next month for ¥ 2,814 (about $33). Check out another shot after the break.

Continue reading Dice speakers sure to be a fashion gamble

Buffalo's external 32GB and 64GB SSDs can swap insides with your Eee PC's original drive

by Paul Miller, posted Mar 13th 2009 at 3:18PM

Sure, you could look at it as crass commercialism, but we choose to see the softer, gentler side of Buffalo in this act of kindness: buy a new SSD upgrade for your ASUS Eee PC 901-16G and Buffalo will toss in a free chassis to hold your existing 16GB drive. The 32GB and 64GB drives will run you $129 and $228, respectively, and actually ship inside the external drive -- you don't have to swap SSDs if you don't want to, but we like the option. We would, anyways, if we lived in Japan.

[Via PortableMonkey]

Gallery: Buffalo's external 32GB and 64GB SSDs for Eee PC

Crapgadget: "Wow... just, wow" edition

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 13th 2009 at 7:34AM

A buffalo USB speaker? Really? Someone thought this was a good idea? How's about a completely unlicensed Mickey Multifunction Webcam? You know, for doing lots of random crap, just not very well. Or what about an MP3 pen that helps you learn Mandarin? Yeah, 'cause that's totally beneficial in more than three locations on Planet Earth. Or, if you're still not sold, how's about a USB bamboo fountain that'll be a surefire catalyst for adding mold and mildew to any room? Believe it or not, all of these are real products that you can exchange hard-earned dollars for, though obviously we wouldn't recommend it. Cast your vote below for the most jaw-dropping of all.

Read - Buffalo USB Speaker
Read - MP3 Pen
Read - USB Bamboo Fountain
Read - Mickey Webcam

Buffalo intros SHD-NSUM series SSDs with USB and SATA-II interfaces

by Donald Melanson, posted Feb 25th 2009 at 5:24PM

Internal SSD drives generally aren't the most exciting devices out there, apart from the fact they're SSDs, but Buffalo's new SHD-NSUM series of drives look to bit a bit of an exception, with each packing a microUSB port for some data transfers in a pinch in addition to the standard SATA-II interface. Otherwise, the drives are expectedly pretty standard fare, with Buffalo promising that they're 30% faster than a standard hard drive, and offering them in the usual 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities. No word on a 'release round here just yet, but those in Japan should be able to pick 'em up in March for between $120 and $390.

[Via SlashGear]

Buffalo rolls out 7-inch USB external display

by Donald Melanson, posted Jan 28th 2009 at 1:12PM

It may not boast quite the same desk-friendly looks as some of its competitors, but Buffalo's new 7-inch FTD-W71USB display should at least get the job done in a pinch, and most likely do so for a bargain price if the company's track record is any indication. As with similar displays, this one boasts a standard 800 x 480 resolution, and it can be oriented vertically or horizontally to suit the task at hand. Otherwise, you can expect a reasonable 300 nits brightness, a 500:1 contrast ratio, and a whopping 25ms response time, which'll no doubt dash the hopes of anyone actually thinking of using it as a primary monitor. No firm word on a price, but it should be available in Japan by the end of the month.

[Via Akihabara News]

Buffalo's 802.11n WiFi dongle: small in size, tiny in price

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jan 15th 2009 at 3:59AM

Small, fast, and cheap... what could be better? Buffalo's WLI-UC-GN 802.11b/g/n dongle measures just 16 × 33 × 8-mm and costs a mere ¥2,100 (about $24). It supports both Buffalo's proprietary AOSS and the Wi-Fi Alliance's WPS to simplify the process of connecting to secure WiFi networks. Look for the USB 2.0 adapter to ship in Japan and beyond starting next month. Check the hot male-to-female USB bunging after the break.

[Via Akihabara News]

Continue reading Buffalo's 802.11n WiFi dongle: small in size, tiny in price

Buffalo's Web Access hands-on: remote access from your iPhone

by Jacob Schulman, posted Jan 8th 2009 at 8:51PM

16 gigs ain't enough space for all those episodes of The Hills on your iPhone? Well, if you've got a Buffalo NAS such as the LinkStation Mini or Pro, you can now access all your files remotely on your OS X mobile device through an optimized web page straight from your device. The really nifty part is that you can stream MPEGs over 3G (and presumably EDGE, though we don't know why you'd want to) -- although it took around 60 seconds to buffer a TV show episode in the demo we got. The Buffalo rep we spoke with informed us that an actual app would be available in the App Store sometime this quarter, but if you're itching to catch up with LC and the gang, be sure to check out any one of the aforementioned devices that support the service and you could be streaming pronto.

Gallery: Buffalo's Web Access hands-on: remote access from your iPhone

Buffalo debuts stylish new MiniStation hard drives, NAS device

by Donald Melanson, posted Jan 6th 2009 at 5:22PM

Buffalo's hard drives and other devices haven't always been the most eye-catching products out there, but the company looks to be making a respectable showing with its new MiniStation Cobalt drives, which pack all the features you'd expect in a stylish and apparently shock-resistant package. You can also get 'em in your choice of 160GB, 250GB, 320GB, or 500GB capacities (ranging in price from $80 to $170), and in your choice of the three different colors pictured above. Those that prefer of bit of networking with their storage will also soon be able to get their hands on Buffalo's latest LinkStation NAS, the LinkStation Pro, which will be available in both 500GB and 1TB versions ($210 and $300, respectively), and includes Buffalo's Web Access 2.0 feature, which will let you access your files via any web browser, among other standard NAS feature.

Read - PDAToday, Buffalo MiniStation Cobalt
Read - PDAToday, LinkStation Pro

Buffalo's LinkStation Mini external hard drive goes SSD

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 10th 2008 at 9:23AM

Buffalo has already shown its willingness to cram a pricey SSD into an external enclosure for those who prefer quiet, quick operations over the pure vastness of traditional HDDs, and now it's doing so once more with the SSD-equipped LinkStation Mini. Easily titled LS-WSS240GL/R1, the 240GB device houses a pair of 120GB solid state drives and features DLNA / iTunes server capabilities, an Ethernet port, RAID 0 / 1 compatibility, a USB 2.0 socket and a nifty function to turn it off and on with the PC it's connected to (should you want it to). It's expected to hit Japanese peripheral shops late this month with a ¥111,300 ($1,200) sticker in tow, so you'd better be exceptionally wealthy or really, really through with HDDs before okaying the transaction on this one.

Buffalo's wireless injunction stayed, now free to sell WiFi products in US

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 4th 2008 at 6:42PM

Man, we can bet there's some serious celebrating going on at the Buffalo offices today. After being barred from selling its networking gear here in America last June, Buffalo has finally been freed from its CSIRO-given chains. Who's to thank? A federal judge who has stayed the permanent injunction in the ongoing US patent litigation, which opens the doors for the company to sell "IEEE 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n compliant products in the United States." Finally, we USers can look forward to buying helicopter inspired routers on our home turf.

[Thanks, Mark]

Buffalo unveils 16GB and 32GB SSDs for Inspiron Mini 9

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 12:23PM

It looks like the kids at Buffalo are hard at work making sure that all of you netbook-lovin' Engadget readers aren't stuck with the minimal storage that has plagued early adopters of the solid state drive. In addition to their recent Eee PC-compatible SSDs, the company is now offering 16GB and 32GB drives for Dell's Inspiron Mini 9. Due out sometime this month, the 16GB should set you back ¥5,300 ($57), or you can shell out ¥9,400 ($101) for the 32GB.

[Via Slashgear]