Portable hard disks are getting smaller (and their capacities are getting bigger) but Buffalo is one of the few manufacturers paying attention to the need for a rugged disk that can take the wear and tear of daily life.

It's not so big a problem for a notebook computer but a device this size that can be slipped into a pocket needs to have protection from the knocks and drops it will suffer.

The Ministation includes a good protective coating for all-round shock-proofing, and a USB cable that wraps around the disk when it's not in use. It also comes with an extra USB cable that can be used to draw more power from the computer, which can be handy for notebook users.

Turbo USB is a feature that increases the transfer speed of files to and from the disk, and needs software from the supplied CD (otherwise you can just plug in the disk and it works fine). It works reasonably well, although it's still slower than using an internal hard disk. We looked at the 120GB version, but other size are available, and prices get better as the disk size increases.

Vista compatible: Yes