I-O Data external USB HDD backs up data and video from camcorders

I bet that many people who take photos and video on their camcorder just leave the content sitting on the internal HDD or memory card until they run out of space and are forced to move the content. The reason is that it seems like it takes forever when you have to move hundreds of photos and hours of video to your PC.

I-O Data has announced a new portable hard drive that is designed to not only back up data from your PC, but to store that video from your camcorder easily. The drive is designed to plug into any Sanyo Xacti, JVC Everio, or Sony Handicam to store the video from the devices.

Another cool little feature of the device is that once that video is on the HDPN-U500/V HDD you can watch the video from the HDD on your TV. The video is not played directly from the HDD though. You have to connect the HDD to the camcorder for playback. The drive is set to launch in Japan at the end of September for 16,000 yen. No word on pricing or availability elsewhere.