Hasta La Gadget!

Thinking about upgrading your iPad or iPhone just to add more storage for videos, photos and music? Kingston hopes to save the day with its Wi-Drive, a WiFi-enabled battery-powered storage device designed exclusively for use with iOS. Several factors make the pocket-sized device a tough sell, however, including its cost ($130 for 16GB, $175 for 32GB), and the fact that this otherwise clever content sharing contraption adds yet another gadget to your already crowded portable mix. We’d probably save up for a new, higher-capacity device before accessorizing our old gadgets, but a compact media server does seem like the perfect companion for a road trip, serving up HD videos and other content simultaneously to multiple devices using the free iOS app. This is strictly a content server — while you can move move content off the drive and later transfer it back, there’s no backup tool included, and Kingston says we shouldn’t expect one in the future, either. Click past the break for our impressions of Kingston’s flash-based server, due to hit stores later this month.

Continue reading Kingston Wi-Drive wireless storage for iOS preview (video)

Kingston Wi-Drive wireless storage for iOS preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Steve, who seems to be proving the College Stereotype wrong in a big way. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I’m a college student and we are updating our intranet / network capabilities at my fraternity. One idea is to create a network drive for backups for each member living in the house. We already have a network drive accessible by everyone wired in (about 40 people via Ethernet cable), so the raw storage and infrastructure is there. What is a good backup software that is cross-platform (Mac and Windows) and free or relatively cheap? Moreover, once the backup software is in place, what steps should be taken to ensure security of each members data? Thanks!”

Any software junkies (or frat admins) out there care to chime in? Seems like a common problem, actually, and we’re more than confident that someone sticking to that 4.0 GPA has an answer. Toss yours in comments below.

Ask Engadget: best network backup solution for multiple computers? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Many of us have a smartphone, set-top box, and a PC or two, and it’s always nice (and sometimes necessary) to have access to your data no matter which gadget you’ve got on hand. Enter D-Link’s newest ShareCenter NAS servers, the DNS-320 and DNS-325 to accomplish the task of digital distribution. Both pack dual SATA 3.5-inch drive bays for up to 4TB of total storage, a single USB 2.0 port, RAID support, integrated P2P, gigabit Ethernet, and a built in web file-server app (too bad they didn’t follow QNAP’s lead and give us a dedicated smartphone app as well). Available now, the $110 DNS-320’s got an 800MHz processor and 128MB of RAM, while those willing to pony up $200 for the DNS-325 get 1.2GHz silicon, 256MB of memory, photo gallery and audio streaming apps, plus the ability to host your blog directly from the device. If you want a 1TB drive pre-installed, prices jump to $200 for the DNS-320 and $280 for the DNS-325 when they drop next month. A small price to pay in preparation for World Backup Day, wouldn’t you say?

Continue reading D-Link does the NAS dance with new ShareCenter DNS-320 and DNS-325 home servers

D-Link does the NAS dance with new ShareCenter DNS-320 and DNS-325 home servers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear  |   | Email this | Comments

Yes, the times are changing. Yes, we’ve cut back on purchasing CDs, DVDs, and BDs lately. Yes, we still have plenty of discs lying around in jewel cases on dusty shelves or in enormous three-ring binders. And yes-most definitely yes-we want to be able to access all these movies and songs from our PC, television, and our shiny new smartphone. More »

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Michel, who seems to be having difficulty sleeping without a decent backup solution in his home. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“It’s been 6 years since the last Ask Engadget article on best home backup solution. Is there a good update yet? It’s for PC, and I need to be able to disconnect the hard drive and plug it in, and navigate the folders like on my main PC. Thanks!”

Home backup solutions have come a long way over the years, but having one that also funtions as a conventional external drive cuts down your options somewhat. We’re guessing this fellow is looking for something more akin to a Clickfree drive rather than a 5-bay NAS, so if you’ve got any recommendations in that area, shout ’em out in comments below.

Ask Engadget: best home backup solution? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments