Seagate gets NASty with Pogoplug-based FreeAgent DockStar: hands-on

Hard to believe this is Seagate’s first consumer NAS offering (keyword being “consumer“), but sure enough, the FreeAgent DockStar is the company’s first major effort to get its own line of FreeAgent Go hard drives onto your network. Without getting into too much detail, this simple dock is essentially a Pogoplug with a built-in cradle for one’s FreeAgent Go USB (read: not FireWire) HDD. Thankfully, a trifecta of USB 2.0 sockets are littered about the edges, ensuring that at least three standard USB drives can also be connected and accessed over the web. We’ve yet to have a chance to put this bugger through its paces, but since we know all about the underlying technology, you can probably learn everything you need to know from our Pogoplug review. For those who’d rather opt for a Seagate’d version of an already available product, this DockStar is shipping today for $99.99. Oh, and we should mention that it comes with a year of the Pogoplug service, but after that, you’ll be shelling out $29.99 per year for unlimited sharing and remote access.

In related news, Seagate is also introducing three new capacities for its FreeAgent Go family. In addition to the 250GB, 320GB, 500GB and 640GB versions already out there, the range will now include a 750GB, 880GB and 1TB version. Too bad no pricing or release details are available on those, but we’ll be keeping an eye out.

Continue reading Seagate gets NASty with Pogoplug-based FreeAgent DockStar: hands-on

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Seagate gets NASty with Pogoplug-based FreeAgent DockStar: hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Belkin Home Base brings wireless printing and file sharing to any PC

You’ve been looking for it, we’ve been looking for it — heck, displaced Martians have been looking for it. We’re talking about that mythical, magical box that adds all sorts of connectivity to any networked PC, and rather than making consumers purchase separate devices to add NAS capabilities and wireless print sharing to one’s home, Belkin‘s Home Base does it all. This sleek little box includes four USB 2.0 sockets and an Ethernet jack, and when connected to one’s home router, a printer and at least one external hard drive, any machine on the network instantly gains wireless printing abilities as well as network access to your USB HDD(s). Furthermore, Home Base can wirelessly backup your connected PCs behind your back, and with the automatic sharing feature, your most intimate photos can be whisked away to Flickr-land without you having to know. Are you as giddy as we are? Pull out $130 and get to shoppin’ — it should be available today.

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Belkin Home Base brings wireless printing and file sharing to any PC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freecom’s MediaPlayer II NAS and media streamer aims high, scores low

Freecom's MediaPlayer II NAS and media streamer aims high, scores low

Freecom has released enough diverse disk-based products over the past few years to inspire hope that its latest attempt to bridge the network-attached storage and media streamer divide would succeed. Not the case, according to Register Hardware‘s review. File copies to the device were quick enough over USB, but once tethered on Ethernet got rather slow (10 minutes for a 1GB file, 36 minutes for 1,024 1MB files), and even worse over WiFi (14 and 44 minutes, respectively). So, that whole NAS aspect doesn’t exactly work out. Neither does the streaming side, with an inability to open H.264 or WMV9 files, and while it can decode high-definition MPEG2 files, it fails to play them smoothly. It can open DivX and Xvid files, and can even play DVD ISO files, but, sadly, that’s where the positives end for this £115 ($190), 500GB multi-tasker.

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Freecom’s MediaPlayer II NAS and media streamer aims high, scores low originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS TS mini home server makes its blurrycam debut

If these China-borne blurrycam photos are to believed, ASUS is following Acer into the home server market with the TS mini. Along with the images came some alleged specs, conveniently sized up with its rival‘s easyStore Home Server, showing it to be lighter, taller, and half the width, but also having room for only two 3.5-inch SATA drives versus four in the Acer version. It’s all run by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 with 2GB RAM, an ethernet port, and storage expansion options including six USB 2.0 and two eSATA ports. What’s that, you want price and release date? It seems no one can confirm this device has even gone beyond the prototype stages, so don’t pencil this into your holiday wish list just yet.

[Via We Got Served]

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ASUS TS mini home server makes its blurrycam debut originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG debuts N2R1 NAS with built-in DVD burner, up to 2TB of storage

It may be a pretty crowded field to compete and stand out in, but it looks like LG is intent on angling for a bigger share of the NAS market nonetheless, and it’s now taken advantage of CEDIA to debut its new N2R1 model. While this one doesn’t pack a Blu-ray recorder like LG’s earlier model, it does still include a somewhat uncommon built-in DVD burner to complement the two standard hard drives (for up to 2TB of storage). Otherwise, you can expect the usual Ethernet and WiFi connectivity (just 802.11g, unfortunately), DLNA support, and all the basic security measures you’d expect — not to mention a stylish white enclosure. Look for this one to hit retailers sometime this Fall with a list price of $299 for the 1TB version or $399 for the 2TB model.

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LG debuts N2R1 NAS with built-in DVD burner, up to 2TB of storage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buffalo intros 4TB TeraStation NAS

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a TeraStation from Buffalo, and in the meantime the company has been really going wild with the lilliputian memory devices, so it’s nice to see something substantial in this space for a change. The latest TeraStation NAS integrates with Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 for up to 4TB storage. Of course, this particular Windows release has been available since late 2006, so we’re not too terribly impressed — but the company seems to think that it’s important for you to know all about it. In addition, this bad boy has support for Raid 5/0/1 and VSS, and rocks four hot-swappable drive bays. The WS-Q2.0TL/R5 (2TB) is available for ¥158,000 ($1,658), while the WS-Q4.0TL/R5 (4TB) will set you back ¥198,000 ($2,077). And no, it won’t fit in your pocket.

[Via Akihabara News]

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Buffalo intros 4TB TeraStation NAS originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xtreamer e-TRAYz NAS boasts up to 4TB storage, artistic license with English language

Loving your Xtreamer media player? The company’s gearing up for a much larger, more versatile NAS complement that supports up to 4TB of storage across two bays, and anyone who’s purchased last year’s model by November 1st will get a chance to pre-order this one for €59 (US $84) when the listing opens on that day. It’s bring-your-own-disk drives, but otherwise you’re getting a Windows 7 / Snow Leopard-compliant server that supports RAID 0 / 1, torrent management, 802.11n (with dongle), and a surveillance webcam for remote snooping that’s due out by Christmas of this year. After November 1st the price jumps to €99, and those who don’t have the current Xtreamer will have to pick up both as a €198 set. No ship date yet, but we’re supposed to be hearing more details, including full specs, in the coming days.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

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Xtreamer e-TRAYz NAS boasts up to 4TB storage, artistic license with English language originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iomega introduces StorCenter ix4-200d NAS

Iomega just expanded its StorCenter NAS line with the new-four bay StorCenter ix4-200d. Just like the smaller ix2, the ix4 can handle pretty much whatever you throw at it: filesharing over a laundry list of protocols, streaming to iTunes, an Xbox 360, handling your Time Machine backups — it can even take video directly off Axis-brand IP surveillance cameras. On the hardware side, you’re looking at dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, three USB ports for printer sharing and additional storage, and a “QuikTransfer” button that’ll let yo copy files directly from a flash drive to the NAS without a computer. The downside? You’ll have to pay for all that power: the 2TB version costs $700, and the top-of-the-line 8TB model will set you back a whopping $1,900. Yes, you can just get a dedicated server for that kind of money, but then you wouldn’t be able to say you were rolling with NAS, now would you?

[Via Yahoo]

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Iomega introduces StorCenter ix4-200d NAS originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple unveils 2TB Time Capsule, ships today for $499

Nearly four months after we first saw evidence that a 2TB Time Capsule was in the works, Apple has finally come clean and listed said device for sale in its webstore. So far as we can tell, the 802.11n router + NAS drive isn’t any different than existing models save for the internal capacity, and it looks to be shipping today for $499. If you’ll recall, that’s exactly what Apple was charging for the 1TB model yesterday, which has today stooped to just $299. As for that 500GB model? Looks like the clearance / refurbished section is your only option there, where it’s currently listed for $199.

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Apple unveils 2TB Time Capsule, ships today for $499 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digital Cowboy’s DC-MCNP1 2.5-inch NAS doubles as media player

It’s a little hard to believe that we’ve gone two whole months without a new device from Digital Cowboy, but at long last, the Japanese wrangler is hitting back with a striking new piece of consumer electronics goodness. The DC-MCNP1, which falls neatly into the Movie Cowboy family, is a 2.5-inch NAS drive at heart, but aside from giving you access to files on its diminutive internal drive anywhere in the world, it also streams a plethora of file formats to your HDTV. The HDMI / composite video outputs should take care of the vast majority of ya, and the USB 2.0 socket provides an expansion option for those needing to hook up an external HDD. An Ethernet port is built in for network access, but those who’d prefer to cut the cord can certainly plug a wireless adapter into that USB socket and pray continuously to the signal gods above. If you find yourself in Fukuoka next month, give this one a look if you’ve got ¥19,900 ($209) to spare.

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Digital Cowboy’s DC-MCNP1 2.5-inch NAS doubles as media player originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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