Hasta La Gadget!

Introduction

A few weeks ago, Synology contacted us with the question “Have you spotted our latest 2-bay DS713+ and DX513 expansion unit?”. Honestly this model seemed to have slipped to capture our attention because we were thinking “Oh, it just has to be the old DS712+ upgraded with USB 3.0 ports…”.

Synology said no, it is a lot more than just the USB 3.0 ports. So we decided to try it, look at it and test it just like we did last year with the new 5-bay DX513 expansion unit. Didn’t put our hopes up too much, since the DS712+ was already a very decent unit putting down a solid performance ratio.

Synology’s DS713+ key features:

• 202.3 MB/sec Reading, 135.84 MB/sec Writing Speed1
• Dual Core CPU & Super-Speed USB 3.0 Ports
• Dual-LAN Failover and Link Aggregation Support
• Hassle-free Scalability Up to 7 Drives With Synology DX513
• Extensive Surveillance With 20 HD IP Camera Capacity
• VMware® with VAAI support, Citrix®, Microsoft® Hyper-V® compliant
• Easy-to-Use Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)

Synology is aiming for the budget minded SMB users who put cost-efficiency and high performance on their requirements list. That said, on paper it cranks up both read & write speeds, comes in the faster USB flavor, and doesn’t back down on expandability. With up to 20 surveillance cameras connectable, 5 extra disks (via DX513 unit) and all the high-end business compliancy you either love or hate (Citrix, VAAI, Hyper-V…) it looks a cracking device. Very promising!

System specs

• CPU Frequency : Dual Core 2.13 GHz (Floating Point)
• Memory : DDR3 1 GB
• Internal HDD/SSD : 3.5″ or 2.5″ SATA(II) X 2
• Max Internal Capacity : 8TB (2X 4TB  Hot Swappable HDD)
• External: USB 3.0 Port X 2, USB 2.0 Port X 1, eSATA Port X 1
• Size (HxWxD) : 157 x 103.5 x 232 mm
• Weight : 1.69 kg
• LAN : 2 ports Gigabit with support for Link Aggregation
• Wake on LAN/WAN

• System Fan : 92 x 92 mm x1
• Wireless Support (dongle)
• Noise Level : 19.2 dB(A)
• Power Recovery
• AC Input Power Voltage : 100V to 240V AC
• Power Frequency : 50/60 Hz, Single Phase
• Power Consumption : 30.72 W (Access); 17.88W (HDD Hibernation);

• Operating Temperature : 5°C to 35°C (40°F to 95°F)
• Storage Temperature : -10°C to 70°C (15°F to 155°F)
• Relative Humidity : 5% to 95% RH
• Maximum Operating Altitude : 6,500 feet
• Certification : FCC Class B, CE Class B, BSMI Class B
• Warranty : 3 Years

On the software side the most notable features are:

• Max File System Size : 108TB
• Max iSCSI Target # : 32
• Max iSCSI LUN # : 256
• iSCSI LUN Clone/Snapshot
• Supported RAID Types : Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR), Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1
• RAID Migration : Basic to RAID 1
• Volume Expansion with Larger HDDs : Synology Hybrid RAID, RAID 1
• Synology Expansion Unit Support : DX513/DX213 (supports RAID-5, 6 and 10 with hot spares)

• Max User Accounts : 2048
• Max Groups : 256
• Max Shared Folder : 256
• Max Shared Folder Sync Tasks : 8
• Max Concurrent CIFS/AFP/FTP Connections : 512
• Windows Access Control List (ACL) Integration
• VMware vSphere 4 and 5 with VAAI
• Windows Server 2008 and 2012
• Citrix Ready

The full specifications sheet is available here.

Design

The DS713+ has a lot in familiar with its predecessor. Actually, if it wasn’t for the removal of the Synology brand name in white, the differences are very hard to spot since the old and new model look visual twins.

The all-matte black-colored outer shell still consists of thin rolled steel; the front and back are made of PVC. Everything looks well built and lives up to the business appeal. The 2 drive bays are the exact same push-tray system used for most devices from the SMB series, all very durable and of “no-nonsense” approach. A nice feature is the twist-locking mechanism, avoiding the trays to snap out in case somebody would push them.

On the back of the unit the blue color on the USB ports reveal the upgrade to USB 3.0 ports. The fan still remains the 92mm model from the predecessor, equally kept intact is the ESATA connector for the expansion unit.

The power brick that comes with the DS713+ appears to be the same one as the old DS712+, however due to some eco-efficiency modifications to the new model this one should draw a few less watts through the wall plug.

The DX513 expansion unit’s design is a bit different than the old one. Glossy front, solid rolled steel in matte black give it a slightly more expensive look. Drive trays have been upgraded, last year’s model had snap-locks (a switch system, where you pushed in the disk, and pushed a little switch down to lock the whole disk tray), this year’s model uses the exact same twist lock as the DS713+. On the back of the new expansion unit you can probably spot the most visually differentiating item compared to the old one: removable fan-mounted brackets.

Acoustics

In the acoustics department the DS713+ does a pretty steady job. It doesn’t annoy you in standby/sleep mode, the 92mm fan on low-power or silent mode has thought itself how it can keep the user pleased by NOT trying to mimic an industrial grade server rack the size of a cookie box.

However it has to be said, there is a “thingy” with the fitting of the disk brackets in the DS713+, it might be only our test-dummy, but once the disk was mounted and plugged in the unit started making slight vibrations who became audible during long time operation.

So we fixed that… with an EPDM strip (yes, that’s what normal people call “a piece of pond liner”). We’ve seen this rattle issue before with a Shuttle OmniNAS, so this time we knew how to arm us against rattle. Fairly simply put: you apply a very tiny strip of EPDM rubber on the slider of both drive rails, causing a lot more friction between the tray and the drive cage = noise gone.

It has to be mentioned that the DX513 expansion unit used the exact same rail type, and is more silent than the DS713+. The new expansion unit comes with 2 user removable 80mm fans. Although when I first saw Synology’s choice/opt for 2x 80mm fans I was very skeptical. Why? When they could have easily went for a 2x 92mm or 1x 120mm more silent solution… Well It’s impressive, but the 2x 80mm are incredibly silent, the built quality of the expansion unit is very sturdy and well balanced (pretty heavy too, which is good for the purpose).

A separate note on the removable fans on the DX513 expansion unit: this is a GOOD improvement! I really liked to see how they allowed the fans to be replaced/removed/cleaned without having to power off the NAS and first remove all the drives, crack open the whole casing before you had access to the rear cooling fans. This time you can take out both fans by removing the bolts that hold them into place at the back of the unit.

Don’t forget to turn off the beep warning before you remove them from the power socket for cleaning, cause the NAS will turn on the alarm if it detects a fan being deactivated/failing.

A word on power efficiency

It has to be said that the upgraded DS713+ adds a lot more spice to the Synology recipe compared to the old model. Usually these units tend to consume less power with every generation, yet this time (for the DS713+) this is not the case. The power draw increased by 3w during operation, whilst the sleep mode power draw has remained intact. It is relatively fair to say that the increased capability of the USB 3.0 (being able to sport much more hungry devices) and the Intel Atom boost from 1.8Ghz to 2.16Ghz also elevated the power consumption. Though 3w is still considered fairly moderate for this type of highly capable networking device.

• The new DS713+: 31w during operation, 18w in sleep mode
• The old DS712+: 28w during operation, 18w in sleep mode

When looking at the DX513 expansion unit, it’s a totally different story. On the outside it might not have had an epic design makeover, but on the inside (logic board) the improvements are vast.

The DX513 gets away with 45w where the old DX510 required 30% more “juice” to get the same errands done. Another (and more impressive) fact is the support for deep sleep, which reduces the “sleep” power draw by a whopping 900%.

• The new DX513: 45w during operation, 2w in deep sleep mode
• The old DX510:  59w during operation, 18w in sleep mode

Surveillance, download, and various apps

Synology has always been down with the pack when it comes to apps and availability. Actually there are already so many apps out there for your devices that its becoming increasingly hard to feature something new in every review made. We know for example that they have introduced streaming video features, however this SMB unit doesn’t have a dedicated HMDI out for that, so we’ll focus on that part for a future device.

What we can highlight for the SMB user is that the business features have been tuned up, please give this link a read.

Particularly handy are the data backup & replication settings and integration with their native cloud services. Making it easier than ever to share your document in the cloud with yourself, your clients, or the people you value obtaining them in real-time.

Another great feature for Synology is the improved DSM. Installation right “out of the box” has never been this easy. With previous versions one had to download the latest DSM from their website, or use a potentially older version that came in the box (cd). Now the new system auto-detects a first-run and asks you if you’d like to install your own DSM, or use a version present by default on the NAS’s internal memory.

That’s a first for Synology. And its real easy, you just tell it to use the DSM present. After the installer has run you through the easy step-by-step configurator it will auto update to the latest DSM for you. Pretty convenient way to set everything up without losing too much time using the cd or manual DSM download.

Speed & performance

We are providing you with a simple table of file read/write actions we performed and which represents a more real world model of what users actually do with their NAS devices. These test are averages from Windows (SMB) and Apple (AFP) systems.

Description:

1. A set of 100 HQ JPEG photos in folder
2. A bulk of 1000 itunes audio files
3. A 4GB folder containing mixed small files and folders
4. A 8GB single file archive
5. A 35GB folder with 10*3.5GB files inside
6. An 800MB single file archive
7. A 350MB episode

Table 1: Native 2 disk mirrored RAID. (RAID-1 without Expansion unit)

Now compare these numbers with the results we got from last year’s DS712+ (the predecessor of the new DS713+, see table below). You can clearly notice up to 30% speed gain in Raid-1. It’s nearing the speed limit of the gigabit network adapter, which is a very solid improvement over the old model.

Particularly noteworthy to mention are the ATTO results on windows. This is one of the very few “moderately priced” NAS units we’ve tested that pushes forward a maximum speed of 118Mb/Sec in both read and write.

Table 2: RAID5 ( 3 disk mode, 2 native in DS713+, 1 disk in DX513)

Comparing these results with last year’s model (see table below), we can again see a very solid speed boost in the write speed to the Synology DS713+. It has to be said that this 2-bay units really shows its performance potential when hooked up with the expansion unit.

Upgrading hardware

The DS713+ isn’t the easiest unit to upgrade if you’re not a DIY nut but it’s not mission impossible either. Upgrading the RAM memory requires the removal of the rear PVC backplate and rolled steel cage, after that you have access to remove the logic board to replace the SODIMM module (default 1Gb, but can be replaced by a 2Gb or higher if required).

Personally we’ve seen over the years that Synology isn’t a big fan of users replacing or modifying their units. Just like this DS713+ they’re made to be purchased, plugged into the power socket, and “simply do their job”. People who own the latest 4 bay models will probably agree that the new approach towards click-together plastic outer shells clearly don’t want to be opened by non-authorized Synology technicians. So unless you read “Warranty void if opened” as “surprise inside”, best to let Synology handle your repairs or upgrades

Final verdict

Last year’s version was already a solid device being well capable to deliver quality performance for most small business users out there. This year’s DS713+ spiced up the writing speeds by 30-40% depending on RAID configuration. Adding high speed USB3.0 to the plate, and an improved installation guide with DSM “built-in” makes the DS713+ again a killer bee.

Very possibly the only negative bit we can come up with were the internal acoustics when the hard drives were actively spinning, though this could be solved with some DIY tweaks. Power draw seems to be few watts higher, again not a point we can mock on as the DS713+’s specifications come up much more muscular compared to last year’s DS712+.

Although we’re supposed to be enlightened by the “main unit” (the Synology DS713+), we’d lie if the DX513 expansion unit left us cold. To contradict, I’d rather state the new expansion unit made quite a show for itself. How can’t it be? Dramatically improved energy efficiency, user-replaceable cooling fans on brackets and a more silent unit are all it needs to make the DX510 better and transform the old pumpkin into the new DX513!

The expansion unit doesn’t only bring speed gain to the already nice DS713+, it goes way beyond “just expansion”. A few examples why you too could benefit from getting an expansion unit:

–        Use the DS713+ as a mirror-RAID solution for work related, use the DX513 to create another RAID for all your home-related sharing/streaming/backups.

–        Use the DS713+ as a media device for home, use the DX513 for a RAID-5 array and create for all home/biz users their own network folder (or disk) for private backup and/or public sharing.

–        Use the 1^st gigabit network output for a 24/7 Mirrored-Raid web server or FTP, use the 2^nd gigabit network output to drive all your local home or business NAS features like sharing, iSCSI, backups, etc… by keeping the public web shared part on a completely separated network lane from your private data.

–        And so many more combinations…

Last year, Sony’s peculiar move to beef up its entry-level NEX left us puzzled, and generally unimpressed. The NEX-F3 was a fine mirrorless camera by most accounts, but its larger footprint left us hoping for a next-gen offering more in line with its predecessor, the NEX-C3 — a tried-and-true shooter that many Engadget staffers still turn to for review photos and trade shows, thanks to its consistent performance and light weight. We were quite relieved, then, to see that this year’s device represented a return to the 2011 design, with a few very compelling additions, to boot.

Like last year’s model and even the C3, the Sony NEX-3N packs a 16.1-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. The chip is physically larger than what you’ll find in a Micro Four Thirds camera, and it’s comparable in size to the sensors that ship in many full-size DSLRs. That imager is the key to the 3N’s success — it enables the camera to offer DSLR-like performance in a body that’s much smaller, and even less expensive. Speaking of which, the 3N kit carries an MSRP of $500, though you may be able to find it for a bit less, including the 16-50mm retractable zoom lens — we’ll touch on that a bit more after the break.

Filed under: Cameras, Sony

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Cadillac has long been a brand associated with luxury and sophistication, but it was also long thought of as the car your father – or your grandfather – might drive. Well I’m here to tell you that has definitely changed. I recently had the opportunity to put the 2013 Cadillac ATS to the test for a full week, and not only is it an excellent vehicle, it can be packed with all of the high-tech goodies that gadget geeks like you and I want in a car.

I won’t spend too much time talking about the car’s performance and styling – my focus will be on the technology inside the ATS. However, I will tell you that the ATS is one good looking car, with modern and agressive body styling, and a comfortable and luxurious interior. The all-wheel-drive, direct-injected 2.0L turbo model that I drove had plenty of punch (272 horses and 260 lb.-ft. of torque to be exact), while maintaining a consistent 25 MPG fuel economy combined across highway and city driving. The car handled like a dream – especially when I put it into “Sport” mode, which tightens up the steering and suspension so you feel in control of every move. It’s this incredibly solid handling along with a punchy little engine that makes this truly a driver’s car. Despite its zippy and sporty performance, it offered an exceptionally quiet ride.

The model I tested was loaded with tech features, with Cadillac’s vaunted CUE (Cadillac User Experience) system at the center of it all. This provides a centralized control panel for audio, navigation, climate, and other vehicle preferences. The system uses a pair of displays – a 8-inch multitouch display that’s the main controller, and a small 5.7-inch display that’s located in the instrument panel behind the steering wheel. Sound for the system is provided by a powerful Bose surround sound system.

In addition to the touchscreen, there are a number of touch-sensitive chromed “buttons” beneath the main display, providing quick access to power, volume, climate, and CUE’s Home screen. While neither the chromed buttons nor the touchscreen provide the physical “click” that you might find in traditional controls, CUE includes a haptic feedback which provides a gentle “thump” sensation to confirm your finger presses.

CUE itself provides a very clean and simple interface which should be familiar to anyone who uses a tablet or a smartphone. Its Home screen offers icons for Audio, Navigation, Phone, Settings, Climate, and OnStar. While there is room on the Home screen for a couple more icons, GM was smart to place a couple of icons on a second page for Pandora and Weather apps, so you get used to the swipe gesture to change pages. You can always drag and drop the icons around if you want to reconfigure them.

The arrow icon at the bottom right of the screen pops up a handy list of your favorite audio presets, which can be from any of the different sources, including Sirius/XM, AM, or FM. You can also pull up on this bottom menu to access more than five presets at a time. The CUE touchscreen also has proximity sensors, which turn on the menus at the top and bottom of the screen only when your hand is nearby. When you move your hand away, the screen displays only the most relevant information, greatly simplifying the displayed information.

One of my favorite features in Audio mode is the “Browse” screen. This lets you quickly swipe through the list of hundreds of radio stations, and tap directly to the one you’d like – just like using the Contacts list on a smartphone.

CUE also offers all of the requisite tech features you’d expect in a modern vehicle, including voice-based turn-by-turn GPS navigation, and Bluetooth integrated hands-free calling. Both of these features worked effortlessly for me in my tests, but being such utilitarian features, didn’t really surprise me in any way. It also offers “Natural Voice Recognition” for hands-free operation, which definitely is more intuitive than having to remember things like whether to say “Call” or “Dial” on other voice-based systems.

I mentioned before that CUE also offers Pandora support, and it provides a truly integrated experience, with album art, thumbs-up/down, bookmarking, and direct access to all of your mixes. Keep in mind that this only works over Bluetooth with Android and Blackberry devices, and iOS users will need to plug into the USB port in order to take advantage of the Pandora app.

There’s also a Weather app which provides quick access to current and forecast information, and Cadillac is expecting more applications down the road, after it announced an app developer program and SDK back at CES this past January.

I will say that it took a little getting used to the touch-only CUE interface, but once you realize that you can use standard gestures like swipe and pinch-zoom (which is really handy on the nav interface), it’s quite a nice setup. That said, I would still like to have physical buttons below the CUE display instead of the touch sensitive metal ones. I’d also like to see hard buttons for the major functions like Audio, Nav and Phone so I could quickly change between these without taking my eyes off the road. One other thing to note is that both the screen of the CUE and the glossy surfaces in the center console of the ATS are major fingerprint and dust magnets. Fortunately, Cadillac was kind enough to include a little gift in the glove box…

In addition to the touchscreen, CUE offers a set of handy steering wheel controls which quick access to many functions, including volume, track and even access to settings directly in front of you on the 5.7-inch widescreen dashboard display. You can even use the joystick-style controller on the right side of the steering wheel to customize what information is shown on the dash, such as a compass, fuel range, MPG info, or even a trip timer.

Another whiz-bang feature in the ATS I drove is the Forward Collision Alert system. This automatically can detect if you’re in imminent danger of rear-ending a vehicle in front of you, flashing a bright red LED heads-up indicator on the windshield, while simultaneously vibrating the driver’s seat.

This is part of the optional Driver Awareness Package which uses the same vibration feedback to alert you if you should stray from your lane while driving, or if you’re getting too close to an object while parking. The seat is pretty nifty tech, because it actually vibrates in different locations depending on if its a general alert, or if the hazard is to the left or right. This is a much better – and less annoying – feedback mechanism than I’ve seen in other vehicular warning systems. Plus, it’s like a free butt massage when it triggers, so how can that be bad?

My car also came equipped with two features which are great to have if you live in a cold place like here in Chicago. Both passenger and driver’s seats came with three-level heating, but perhaps my favorite little surprise feature was the heated steering wheel. Yes. See that button next to the orange light on the steering wheel above? Just press it, and your cold hands will be in heaven in under a minute. Not that it’s a rational thought at all, but I think the government should make this mandatory equipment on all cars that drive in temperatures below 40 degrees.

The ATS also comes with 12 months of OnStar service, which includes driving directions, operator assistance, automatic crash response, and remote lock/unlock and start capabilities via the OnStar RemoteLink smartphone app.

Other high-tech features aboard the ATS include keyless ignition and locks, a rear backup camera, complete with lines that indicate wheel trajectory, electric windows, locks, and electric driver’s and passenger seats. It’s also got universal home remote capability for controlling your garage door opener.

Technophiles looking to fully outfit the ATS can also opt for Adaptive Cruise Control – which maintains a pre-set distance between you and other drivers, a configurable Heads-Up full color display, and even Adaptive Forward Lighting, which swivels the cars headlights to cast their beams in the precise direction of your steering. Cadillac also offers optional LED accent lighting on the front of the car, and LED interior accent lighting is standard.

Overall, the 2013 Cadillac ATS is quite a desirable vehicle. It’s luxurious, comfortable, sporty and packed with technology (especially when fully-outfitted), and a car that I would be happy to be seen driving down the road. The CUE system does offer some innovations when compared to other technology packages, and it’s only in its first generation. Since Cadillac is promising that the system is software-upgradeable, I can imagine that CUE will only improve over time.

Base price for the 2013 Cadillac ATS starts at $33,095 (USD) for the RWD, 2.5L 4 cylinder model, and prices go all the way up to $55,005 for a top-of-the-line version with a powerful 3.6L V6. As equipped, the ATS 4WD 2.0L Turbo version I tested had a base price of $41,395. The addition of CUE, the Advanced Security Package, Driver Awareness Package, 18″ Aluminum wheels, the Cold Weather Package, and destination charge brought the final sticker price up to $46,275.

Disclosure: Cadillac provided the loan of the car for review in this article. However, all reviews are the unbiased views of our editorial staff, and we will only recommend products or services we have used personally, and believe will be good for our readers.

Sony took a rather unusual path with its flagship smartphone for 2013: it designed the hardware twice. The Xperia Z is ostensibly the star of the show with its glass body and waterproofing, but it’s launching alongside the Xperia ZL, an equally brawny, yet plainer sibling. On a spec sheet, there’s no apparent reason for the ZL to exist when its features almost perfectly match those of the slimmer and more stylish Z.

Still, it’s precisely that emphasis on function over form that might just win the day. Sony bills the ZL as the most compact 5-inch smartphone on the market, which could win over folks who see large-screened phones as unwieldy. But is it enough to challenge conventional thinking on big phones, especially in light of fiercer competition? And is there anything special lurking underneath the ZL’s reworked hood? Read on and we’ll let you know whether the second device in Sony’s dual-phone strategy is strong enough to outshine the Z — and, more importantly, its rivals.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

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With a billion users, it’d be an understatement to say Facebook has done a good job conquering the desktop world. Mobile, however, is the social network’s next frontier: although it has a significant presence on every major smartphone and tablet platform, the company has a reputation for bringing its key features to the PC environment long before they arrive on mobile — if at all.

But the April 4th reveal of Facebook Home, a solidly built Android launcher, reflects a change in attitude for Mark Zuckerberg and Co. Instead of simply maintaining a smartphone presence, Facebook is ready to go to battle and is putting mobile on the top of its list of priorities. It’s even adding a proper piece of hardware to its arsenal in the form of the HTC First, a 4.3-inch device on AT&T with LTE, reasonable mid-range specs and a gorgeous display. Is it worth $99 with a two-year commitment to purchase a handset dedicated to the social cause? Should you just wait until Home is available as a free download in the Google Play Store? Or is it best to ignore it altogether? Continue reading to find out.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, AT&T, Facebook

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