Until now, Pogoplug has relied on creating what it refers to as a “personal cloud” created from one of its network-attached storage bridges and one or more USB drives. Hooked up to a network, these can be addressed locally as well as remotely accessed via Pogoplug’s site.

The cloud backup element pairs that with a 100GB chunk of Amazon Glacier storage, synchronizing what’s on the “cloud accelerator” with what’s hosted online. Regular use relies on the local copy, with the cloud version saved for extra security.

Pogoplug Family in the UK kicks off at £19.99 per year, including a free Pogoplug device, though you’ll need to supply your own drives. Various tiers of plan are available, for home users with 3 or more computers, and for business teams.

The combination wasn’t necessarily an easy one to engineer, Pogoplug tells us. The magic is in how the company has managed to work around Glacier’s usual retrieval time delay – normally 3-5 hours – and instead deliver content instantly and make it shareable as soon as you want it to be.

That’s because you have a local version, which is served up from your own choice of drives, for the fastest access, along with Amazon’s hosted version for extra data security.

The new system works with both Pogoplug Family and Pogoplug Team accounts, so whether you’re using it at home or in the office you’ll be able to add in a cloud storage option too. Family plans kick off at $29/year for 100GB of offsite cloud storage, with 300GB for $49 and 1TB for $99. All new sign-ups to Family plans will get a free Pogoplug storage device, as a limited-time promotion, too.

Because it’s running on the company’s own servers, local data accessing from the home network is as fast as the LAN can deliver it. However, businesses also get Pogoplug’s various mobile apps for iPad, iPhone and Android, as well as automatic backup of their mobile device to the Pogoplug cloud.

Everything can be reskinned to suit the business itself, leaving the Pogoplug functionality but making it look like an in-house tool. Installation is apparently straightforward, with no modifications required to file types or folder structures. There’s also control over user permissions and sharing options, and the ability to add files to the cloud simply by emailing them in.

Pogoplug Team is available now, priced at $15 per user, per year, with a minimum of three users per account. If you’re a business using an existing Pogoplug product, you can also upgrade it to Team.

Meanwhile, the company has announced new figures on Pogoplug Cloud adoption. Over one million “personal clouds” – that is, Pogoplug hardware devices, or computers running the Pogoplug app - are now in operation. More than 150 petabytes of end-user data is now entrusted to a Pogoplug product.

The Pogoplug Series 4 is priced at $99.99 and sits at the top of the company’s range. It offers two USB 3.0 ports, SD, one USB 2.0, and a 2.5-inch SATA/USM/Seagate GoFlex ultra-portable drive input for hooking up your choice of storage.

As for the Pogoplug Mobile, it has a USB 2.0 port and an SD card slot, and is $79.95. The Pogoplug Cloud app is a free download with 5GB of storage, and can be upgraded to as much as 1TB of capacity.

Hardware

Pogoplug used to be known for its bright pink “internet devices”; now the company has matured into a far subtler black box with a discrete blue logo that doubles as an indicator light. It’s considerably smaller than the original design, though you pay for that in connectivity: just one USB 2.0 port instead of five. You still get a gigabit ethernet port, but whereas the AC adapter was integrated previously there’s now a wall-wart plug instead.

What you do get differently is a full-sized SD card slot on the side, meaning digital photographers can instantly get their pictures and videos onto the network. Those who have more external drives can step up to the Pogoplug Series 4, $20 more than the $79.95 Pogoplug Mobile, which adds a pair of USB 3.0 ports and a SATA/USM connection. The original Pogoplug v2 – now known as the Classic – remains on sale at $49.95.

Setup is indecently straightforward: plug in the power, hook the Pogoplug Mobile to your router via the included ethernet cable, and then open up the company’s site to register a free account. That also gets you 5GB of free online storage, which is handy for offsite backups of your most important files. Pogoplug reckon you can do it all in sixty seconds, and as long as you’ve got a spare ethernet port on your router and a spare mains socket nearby, they’re probably not too far off.

After that, it’s simply a case of choosing what storage you’d like to use and plugging it in. Any USB drive should work, with mobile drives being powered from the port as usual, and you can have both a drive and an SD card connected simultaneously.

Software

Pogoplug Mobile is most easily accessed through the browser interface, either across your home network or remotely. You can, however, mount the volumes as drives in OS X and Windows for more straightforward drag/drop use. The internet-based UI offers access to files, as usual, and various multimedia sections, but Pogoplug has also released the Pogoplug Browser app for PC and Mac. That too shows files and folders, as well as gallery, jukebox and cinema sections that automatically pull out all the multimedia files on your storage and present them in a simple manner.

Files to be added to the Pogoplug can be dragged and dropped straight to the Pogoplug Browser app, and there’s sharing support as well to make firing off photos or other content via email or other routes easy. You can also set up an auto-sync folder that automatically copies any files saved to it over to a dedicated folder on the Pogoplug storage.

It’s the mobile apps that the company is really pushing with this new model, however. Versions for iPhone/iPod touch, iPad and Android are available, each a free download, with generally the same remote access options as the desktop software. You can browse through files/folders, stream photos, music and video, or download multimedia directly to the local storage on your handset. Conversely, you can set the apps to automatically upload photos and videos taken by the phone to your Pogoplug Mobile storage, meaning they’re ready and waiting when you get home. It’s a little like Apple’s iCloud, only with cross-platform support for both iOS and Android devices.

Performance

The bottleneck of the Pogoplug Mobile’s data-transferring abilities will inevitably be the USB 2.0 connection; factor in the inherent shortcomings of even 802.11n wireless networks and it’s inevitable that for most users access speeds will be significantly curtailed in comparison to a directly-connected drive. Still, we were able to watch an HD video stored on a USB 2.0 drive and streaming over an 802.11n WiFi connection to our laptop.

On the move, the mobile apps are very much dependent on your connection – both the download speed of your mobile network and the upload speed of the broadband connection the Pogoplug Mobile itself is connected to. Whereas you can generally rely on a commercially-hosted cloud storage service having a fat upload pipe, most domestic upload speeds are a fraction of the download speed.

That’s not so great an issue for accessing the odd file, browsing a photo gallery or even streaming music, but video could be a trickier issue. The mobile apps offer a choice of watching the original format clip – as long as you have a suitable playback app to handle the codec – as well as an “optimized” version that the Pogoplug Mobile converts into a more mobile-friendly format. The downside to that is the time and space required to actually do that transcoding; you can set it to automatically convert all video or do so on demand, the former obviously occupying space on your hard-drive, and the latter generally proving too slow when handling 720p/1080p original files to watch the clips when we actually wanted to.

Wrap-Up

Compared to regular cloud-storage services, the Pogoplug Mobile costs more upfront – the $79.95 unit itself, and then whatever storage you choose to plug in – but, with no subscription fees, less over time. If you’ve already got a USB drive you’re halfway there; alternatively, there are dual-HDD USB drives that you could plug in if you want some hardware redundancy. Since the Pogoplug Mobile itself is fanless, if you opt for an SD card then you’d have a silent, cool-running storage device that’s easily hidden away.

Alternatively, rely on USB drives for regular storage and then SD cards for when you want to quickly review the photos you’ve just taken on a tablet or phone which lacks a full-sized memory card slot (in other words most of them). It’s certainly convenient, as is dumping all your photos, music and video onto a single drive and streaming them around the home, rather than maintaining copies on each computer and gadget.

Those who can put up with a little noise and who aren’t bothered by SD compatibility might choose to grab the Pogoplug Classic, saving money and getting some extra USB ports in the process. For most mainstream users, though, the Pogoplug Mobile ticks most of the important boxes: ease of setup, ease of use and low cost of ownership.

This fourth generation device gives you more than just four different connection ports to hook up to your HDD, it’s got full-on support for Pogoplug Cloud, giving you the ability automatically get connected with mobile phone photos and videos through the Android or iOS apps also available right this minute. Your Pogoplug Cloud account gives you both 5GB of free storage and the ability to purchase more cloud storage in the near future, then with your Pogoplug Series 4 device your cloud expands that much more, and it’s hosted right there in your own home. Sound like a bit of a value for you and yours?

This fourth generation device is available immediately and will set you back a cool $99.99. You’re also able to grab a free Pogoplug Cloud account with 5GB right out of the box today at http://pogoplug.com/. You can grab the iPhone / iPad app over in the iTunes Appstore and the Android app in the Android Marketplace. For more information about the new universal storage module standard this device uses, head to Sata-io.com

Pogoplug charges $9.95 per month for 50GB of cloud storage or $19.95 per month for 100GB. Alternatively, pick up a Pogoplug or Pogoplug Mobile - for $79 or $99 respectively – and plug in your own choice of hard-drive, and you can host a companion cloud from the home or office that sits alongside the one on Pogoplug’s servers.

“To get 2 terabytes of storage in the cloud with other companies costs hundreds or thousands of dollars” Pogoplug points out. “With Pogoplug, you can buy a $99 device and an $80 2TB HDD and you’re set. Expansion is basically unlimited, and the various Pogoplug products all work together and talk to each other based on your email address.”

Alternatively, if you don’t mind leaving your computer on, you can use the Pogoplug Software and turn your PC or Mac into another Pogoplug drive. You can sign up for a free 5GB account here.

As with previous Pogoplug devices, installation and setup is a speedy process: plug in power, ethernet and some form of storage, register for an account and then choose from the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Android apps, or the new Mac OS X or Windows apps. The web interface is still supported too, for other smartphones and when you’re using someone else’s computer.

With its mobile focus, the smartphone apps are the main push with the Pogoplug Mobile: it can automatically upload a copy of every photo and video you take to your personal cloud (either over WiFi-only, over 3G and WiFi, or on-request only). In the process, along with the original file it creates multiple versions suited to different bandwidths, so that if you want to stream video over 3G you should see fewer jumps and skips. Viewing the original file is an option.

Pogoplug Mobile demo:

The new desktop apps mean drag & drop file management is supported, and both local and mobile software supports Pogoplug’s sharing tools. You can share individual files or groups of files, and since you’re actually inviting others to access content served up via your home (or office) broadband rather than on your phone, you don’t have to leave your notebook or handset turned on as they send, or stomach the ensuing data bill.

Pogoplug will continue to sell the existing consumer ($79) and business ($299) models, as well as offer the free and premium ($29) software apps (which we reviewed a few months back). There’s no WiFi in the Pogoplug Plus; apparently experiments with previous wireless-enabled models only confused customers, and the service works best when it’s hard-wired to your home or office router.

As for rivals like Amazon’s Cloud Drive and Apple’s incoming iCloud, Putterman says that the big marketing and promotion efforts of the two companies, and others, have in fact helped rather than hindered Pogoplug. “When people hear all these things about iCloud they say to themselves, ‘I guess I need to find out about this cloud thing’” the co-founder explained. “That helps us.”

Pogoplug Mobile is up for pre-order from today, priced at $79.99, with availability on October 1 2011.

Background

Pogoplug started off with a basic Marvell Plug Computer design back in 2009, offering a simple way to share a USB hard-drive over the internet. The second-gen model boosted the number of ports to four, and subsequent updates threw in cloud printing support, WiFi and a sober business version dressed all in black.

The company’s premise was straightforward: a sixty second setup experience, made ultra-streamlined with automatic network discovery, sensible default sharing options and a convenient web interface. Mobile apps for iOS and Android meant you could access files and multimedia from home rather than store them locally.

In fact, the only real hurdle was the price: $99 for the magic box itself. Now, with Pogoplug Software, the company is taking on Dropbox and others with a hybrid of the web-accessible cloud model, using local storage and a browser/app-based interface.

Setup and Usability

Rather than plugging in a physical Pogoplug box there’s an app to be downloaded instead, available for both PC (roughly 36MB) and Mac (roughly 16MB). That walks you through setting up a new (free) Pogoplug account or logging into your existing one; multiple Pogoplug boxes and app installs can be linked to the same account. Next there’s the option to share various preset folders – for instance Movies, Pictures, Desktop and Documents on OS X – and then a quick seven pane tour of the main features.

Finally, there’s a link to the my.pogoplug.com site, which pops up in your browser already logged in and showing what folders you’ve shared from your computer. As well as the software client, Pogoplug has updated the web interface and it’s much cleaner than before. Any Pogoplug connections – hardware or software – show up in the left hand column, with tabs for basic file manager view, a Jukebox of music files, Gallery for images, Cinema for video, Sharing for any files or folders you’ve enabled third-party access to, and Backup for automatically copying folders between drives.

Active Copy isn’t new to Pogoplug – the company has offered it on its hardware devices before now – but it gets a whole lot more affordable with the software app. Previously, you’d need a separate Pogoplug device if, say, you wanted to keep an offsite backup of certain files on your computer; now, all you need is the free Pogoplug app.

You don’t have to access files via the website; the Pogoplug app also adds a folder to your computer through which you can easily see any files that have been shared with you. Sharing was one of the easier elements of the Pogoplug experience, and that’s carried forward with the new software. Hit the share button, choose the folder(s) you want to grant access to and then enter one or more email addresses and, optionally, a personal message.

The recipient of a sharing email can, depending on how you’ve set up the invite, be prompted to create a (free) Pogoplug account or, alternatively, access the files simply by clicking on the link. It’s all browser-based, and galleries are automatically animated into neat, parent-friendly slideshows.

You can also automatically add a link to the folder on your Facebook friends’ walls, by logging in with your account details and then choosing their names. Alternatively, you can publish a public link to Twitter or MySpace, or indeed open up the folder completely and even create an RSS feed so that people can keep up to date in their reader app.

There are plenty of neat touches. “One View” automatically hides duplicated files from your various Pogoplug drives (physical or software) to make browsing more straightforward, while you can also share folders by simply right-clicking on them, as long as the local settings app is running. That app also allows you to turn on and off remote access, add folders to Pogoplug, choose to share locally-attached printers, manage the Active Copy backup, and set other Pogoplug units to show up as local drives on your current computer.

Streaming and Apps

Although Pogoplug allows you to access files in any folder, it can also stream directly to a mobile device. The company offers an iPad app, an iPhone/iPod touch app and an Android app, from which you can browse your folders as normal or stream photos, music and video without having to store them on your phone or tablet.

Photo streaming is included in the free package, but there’s a one-time, $29 fee if you want to stream music and video. That’s per Pogoplug account, not per computer, so you can feasibly install the app on multiple PCs and Macs and only pay the fee once. Physical Pogoplug units include music and video streaming in the purchase price, incidentally.

It has to be said, the iOS apps show more polish than the Android app. The latter is very list-based, and we had a couple of forced-closes during testing. In contrast, the iOS app looks great and makes it very easy to navigate through files and streaming media. There’s the choice to share files directly from the app itself, and thumbnails are loaded progressively so as not to slow the whole experience down unnecessarily.

Usability and Security

Pogoplug’s usefulness has always been constrained by the size of your pipe. That is, the upload speed your home or office connection has, since you’re basically hosting your own cloud. It’s fine for documents and photos, but videos and music and be a stretch. Streaming quality it automatically adjusted depending on what upload and download speeds are available, but you definitely won’t get the same 1080p experience remotely accessing Full HD video files as if they were stored locally. Similarly, opening up several folders for sharing can, if multiple people take you up on the invite, clog up your connection.

The recent DropBox security debacle has left many wary of cloud-based storage and who might inadvertently gain access to their files. While Pogoplug leaves all your content stored locally, rather than putting it into the cloud, the web-based login does mean that it’s potentially vulnerable to hacks and similar. Still, if the worst happens, you can always deauthorize your computer with a single click.

Wrap-Up

Back when we reviewed the second-gen Pogoplug, we praised its ease of use but bemoaned the speed bottlenecks of home network connections and USB 2.0 drives. The new Pogoplug Software carried forward that easy setup and remote access, and while the network limitations are still present, the external drive speed issue isn’t necessarily a problem any more.

The obvious competitor is Dropbox, and each service has its compromises. With Dropbox, once you’ve uploaded files any subsequent downloads are reliant on the service’s own fat internet pipe; however, you’re also either stuck with a relatively small amount of free space, or paying a monthly fee for a bigger virtual drive. The Pogoplug app gives you as much space as you have local drives, but the limit shifts to being your broadband upload speeds.

Both offer free starter options, though, and as such there’s nothing stopping you from using each of them as the situation demands. If you’re looking for a straightforward way to remotely access your files and don’t want the cloud in-between, then the Pogoplug software is a great way of doing it. Just make sure you have the upload bandwidth before you pay for the $29 audio and video streaming upgrade.

Want to save $29 and get a free premium upgrade? Pogoplug has offered 200 SlashGear readers a free upgrade: click this link for more details. Be quick, though – once they’re gone, they’re gone! Update: All of the free upgrades have been snapped up, but Pogoplug is offering a $10 discount for SlashGear readers. Click the link to get premium service for just $19!

The Pogoplug Video automatically transcodes video streaming on-the-fly so that no matter what device you’re using to remotely access the content, you should be able to play it. It’ll also support the usual multiple USB hard-drives – in Pogoplug’s unusually-shaped, but this time black chassis – for file and multimedia access.

As for the Buffalo CloudStor, that will be available as the 1TB CloudStor (CS-WX1.0TL) for $149.99, the 2TB CloudStor (CS-WX2.0TL) for $209.99 and the 2TB CloudStor Pro (CS-WV2.0TL) for $249.99. It pairs internal storage, a gigabit ethernet port, a USB port (for adding external storage) and a spare internal drive bay (for adding internal storage and optionally setting up a RAID array) with the same cloud-access as on the Pogoplug Video.

More details on Pogoplug in our review.

Press Release:

BUFFALO SHIPS THE REVOLUTIONARY CLOUDSTOR

Seamlessly Access and Share Content with Anyone, Anywhere with No Fees

AUSTIN, TX – April 4, 2011 – Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking and network and direct attached storage solutions, today announced the highly anticipated, revolutionary Buffalo CloudStor™ personal storage solution is now shipping. First revealed at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, CloudStor goes beyond simple storage, creating a portal to freely access and share photos, videos, music and much more with anyone, anywhere through the cloud. Unlike online storage services, CloudStor has no capacity or service fees. Just plug it in, turn it on and create your free account at mycloudstor.com. CloudStor comes with everything you need to get started. You just have to be free to share.

“Digital content consumption has moved beyond traditional channels along with how it is stored and accessed,” said Ralph Spagnola, vice president of sales at Buffalo Technology. “Bringing CloudStor to market delivers on Buffalo’s promise of simplifying data mobility, allowing you to access and share your content freely, with anyone, anywhere.”

At the center of every CloudStor is the Pogoplug® cloud service. The popular service connects users to their storage and allows them to freely access and share their storage anywhere in the world. CloudStor is the first and only Pogoplug device with integrated storage. Files are securely shared between people and there is no need for user setup; just email a link to your family and friends. Consumers’ digital content always resides on CloudStor and the online service is only used to connect users and guests to specified files on the device.

In addition, CloudStor offers many traditional consumer network attached storage features including private share support for LAN based network sharing and pairing with the popular µTorrent™ client, allowing users to offload the task of downloading torrent files from computers to CloudStor. Buffalo CloudStor can also stream to popular media devices, including Sony PlayStation® 3 and Xbox 360®. Plus, CloudStor has an integrated Time Machine® backup system that allows Mac® users to use Time Machine to backup their systems to CloudStor when at home.

Pricing and Availability

The Buffalo CloudStor is backed by a limited one-year warranty that includes toll-free 24/7 US based technical support. CloudStor is now available at an estimated street price of $149.99 for the 1 TB CloudStor (CS-WX1.0TL), $209.99 for the 2 TB CloudStor (CS-WX2.0TL) and $249.99 for the 2 TB CloudStor Pro (CS-WV2.0TL). Buffalo products can be purchased through distribution, online resellers and Buffalo’s ecommerce website. For more information about Buffalo Technology and its products, please visit the company’s web site at www.buffalotech.com

Alternatively, there’s UPnP support to stream footage direct to an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Like the other Pogoplug units, the new Video version has a gigabit ethernet port and four USB 2.0 ports for hooking up your choice of external storage.

As always, there’s the usual file sharing and remote access that we found so appealing when we reviewed its predecessor. The Pogoplug Video will go up for pre-order from March 1 and then begin shipping on April 1 2011.

Press Release:

Cloud Engines Unveils Pogoplug Video

Instantly streams personal video library anywhere on the Internet

Today we are proud to announce our newest product Pogoplug Video, a new version of the award winning Pogoplug that allows personal video content to stream instantly to any device on the Internet without requiring end users to convert video to a new format or to upload it to an external website.

Pogoplug Video is built upon next-generation hardware video technologies. The product enables users to stream video directly to iPhone, iPad, Android and other Internet connected devices. Video can also stream to UPnP Internet-connected TVs or set-top boxes.

“Pogoplug Video is the breakthrough product that many of our end users have requested.” said Daniel Putterman, our co-founder and CEO. “Now you can become your own personal broadcaster and share and stream personal video without uploading it to a website.”

Ensuring compatibility with the latest HD video formats, Pogoplug Video has been optimized to work with Sony’s AVCHD camera products to make high-quality video instantly streamable. Sony has selected Cloud Engines Inc. as a featured solutions provider, and will showcase Pogoplug Video at the Sony booth at the Consumer Electronics Show 2011.

“Sony is pleased that Pogoplug Video will support our latest AVCHD camera products and will make premium quality AVCHD recorded content accessible to anyone on the go.” said Masashi Imamura, Corporate Executive, Senior Vice President of Sony Corporation.

Daniel Putterman said “Sony represents high quality video. Pogoplug Video lets users easily share content without compromising quality.”

Pogoplug Video is $199, will be available for pre-order on March 1, 2011 and will sell at various retail locations, and directly from www.pogoplug.com, on April 1, 2011.

Pogoplug Video Features
• Share high-quality videos of supported formats immediately. Users no longer need to wait for complicated conversions and lengthy uploads to view and share personal content on mobile or networked devices.
• Watch videos and pictures in full HD. Pogoplug Video automatically streams at the highest quality possible.
• View multimedia on all devices. Pogoplug Video uses multiple streaming protocols to support the most popular mobile and Internet enabled devices. For local viewing, Pogoplug Video supports UPnP so users are able to play content on any UPnP set top box or video game console.
• Stream media from many of the most popular camcorders, video cameras and mobile phones.

There’s also printing support, thanks to the most recent firmware update, which allows you to hook up a USB printer and send files not only from your PC or Mac but from your smartphone.  The company has apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Palm to remotely access files and multimedia content shared using the Pogoplug Pro.

The new version is available now, priced at $99, and will be on sale through Pogoplug’s own online store and at Best Buy stores.  If you’ve got an original v2 Pogoplug, you can always add wireless using the company’s USB WiFi b/g/n stick.

Press Release:

Pogoplug Unveils Latest Version of Award-Winning Product

Pogoplug Pro is Available in Best Buy Stores Today

San Francisco, CA, October 11, 2010 – Cloud Engines, Inc, today announced Pogoplug Pro, the latest version of the company’s award-winning multimedia sharing device. The Pogoplug Pro delivers even more flexibility to store, access, and share personal content from anywhere on the Internet.

Pogoplug allows users to easily and securely access, share, and stream their personal content from anywhere, without uploading. Content remains safely on USB hard drives connected to the Pogoplug device in their home or office, and is available from any Internet enabled device, including apps for the iPhone, Android, iPad, BlackBerry, and Palm.

“Pogoplug is a great option for those who want to quickly and securely share personal files over the Internet,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis at The NPD Group.

The Pogoplug Pro includes all of the popular features of the second generation Pogoplug, including the ability to connect up to four USB drives and to print from any mobile device. In addition, Pogoplug Pro adds built-in wireless connectivity. Owners can place the device anywhere in their home without having to physically connect it to their router.

Pogoplug Pro is available today in Best Buy stores and online for $99 (MSRP).

About Best Buy

With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, China, Mexico and Turkey, Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $49 billion in annual revenue. Approximately 180,000 employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these brands to life for customers through retail locations, multiple call centers and Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery and activities in our communities. For more information about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com.

About Pogoplug Pro

The Pogoplug is a device that connects up to 4 external hard drives to the Internet wirelessly. It is designed for consumers who have an external hard drive and have high speed Internet. Consumers can securely access and share all of their content [Files, Photos, and Video] from any Web browser or enabled mobile device with no additional monthly fees.

About Cloud engines, Inc.
Founded in 2007 by experienced entrepreneurs from the digital media and security industries, Cloud Engines is located in San Francisco, California. The company was formed with a mission to change the way personal content is stored and distributed over the Internet. The Cloud Engines philosophy is that by making a product simple, open and affordable, the community will participate in making it better. For more information, please visit, www.cloudengines.com andwww.pogoplug.com

Pogoplug officially announced the application, along with its release into the App Store, today. The application itself is a full-featured app, bringing with it all the functionality that you might expect from anything Pogoplug-related. Users can now access and share media, files, and whatever else they’ve got saved right from their Pogoplug-attached storage device. You can turn your 16, 32, or 64GB iPad into a memory juggernaut — the ability to hold media and files into the cloud, and the fact you can stream them from the iPad itself, means that you’ll now have access to Terabytes of storage.

And, as we mentioned above, the Pogoplug iPad will let you wirelessly print. And not just documents, either, but pictures can also be printed. You can view and edit documents as well, right from within the iPad app. And, with the ability to play music by artist, genre, or albums — you can even find songs just by album cover art. It will also show you what’s Now Playing, just to make everything easier for you. You can get the application right now from the iPad App Store. And the best part? It’s totally free.

Press Release

Pogoplug Comes to the iPad

iPad Users Can Now Access Own Personal Cloud Services, Including Printing

Today the Pogoplug iPad app is available for free in the iTunes App Store! The new app offers full Pogoplug functionality on the Apple iPad.

Users can now access and share their files or stream their media from their Pogoplug-attached storage, taking full advantage of the multi-touch surface, immersive high-resolution screen and the extreme ease of portability of the iPad.

Pogoplug is a multi-media sharing device that web-enables up to four USB hard drives, allowing upload and making content accessible to the user both locally or via the Internet.

With the new iPad app, users can eliminate storage limits on their Apple tablet device. In conjunction with a Pogoplug and a large hard drive, the iPad’s effective storage can go from the standard 16, 32, or 64GB to a number of Terabytes. With the Pogoplug iPad App, users can also:

-Print from the iPad: The Pogoplug allows printing pictures, documents, emails and more, straight from the iPad
-Browse and open files, including MS Office docs and PDF files: View and edit docs from your iPad
-Watch movies: stream your movies from your Pogoplug to your iPad
-Play music seamlessly from your iPad: Plays entire genres/artists/albums; shows now playing information and finds songs by album cover art

Share files straight from your iPad:

Share videos, pictures, docs and more to family, friends, and coworkers using the my.pogoplug.com site

The Pogoplug iPad App is available today for free in the iTunes App store. There are also iPhone and Android Apps for Pogoplug. The Pogoplug is available at retail locations such as Frys and Amazon for $99

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, the Pogoplug now supports printing. So, if you’ve got your mobile device that can access the Pogoplug’s home server interface, then you get your printing on. And considering most of those mobile devices can access full documents, even ones stared in a Dropbox or on Google Docs, you’ve got plenty of options out there for your printing needs. Printer side, you’ll need an HP or Epson-manufactured device from the year 2005 or newer to get your printing on. The firmware upgrade is rolling out right now, so get ready.

As for that previously announced 802.11 b/g/n wireless adapter, the company has come clean that the device is now shipping. And, surprisingly enough, so is the Pogoplug Biz model, which is focused on the whole Enterprise market. For your reading pleasure, we’ve included the press release below.

Press Release

Pogoplug Gains Two New Products and Enables Web Printing!
A series of new Pogoplug features and products go live today!

Today we are delighted to begin rolling out a new firmware update to our customers that activates a number of new features we have announced in recent months, including our new cloud printing feature. In addition, both the Pogoplug Wireless Extender and
Pogoplug Biz are now shipping.

The print feature that we announced at the beginning of summer allows users to print from iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and any other Internet enabled device from anywhere in the world! The setup is simple; all users need to do is plug any HP or Epson printer made since 2005 into a USB port on the Pogoplug, or if it’s a network printer, simply have it on the same network as the Pogoplug. The firmware update begins rolling out to Pogoplug users today, and all users should have the update by the end of the week.

Our newest product, the Pogoplug Wireless Extender, allows users to place the Pogoplug anywhere in their homes where there is wireless internet access, without having to connect it to a network router or wired Ethernet port. The Pogoplug Wireless Extender begins shipping today.

Pogoplug Biz is an all-new version of Pogoplug specifically for businesses that gives business owners all the great features from the original Pogoplug, along with business specific features like customizable emails, a custom look and feel, file download and access statistics, and multiple users.

If you haven’t already, order your Pogoplug Biz and Wireless Extender now!

Find out how to get a free Pogoplug Wireless Extender after the cut

To celebrate the price reduction, Pogoplug are offering existing owners a free Wireless Extender dongle.  To find out more, check out the company’s Facebook page; basically, you email them with your purchase details from a registered Pogoplug device address.

We’re checking on when the Pogoplug Wireless Extender will begin shipping, and the company tells us the price reduction on the Pogoplug itself should take place online sometime later today.  More details on the Pogoplug in our review.

Press Release:

Pogoplug Gets a Wireless “Little Buddy”

Our #1 requested feature now resolved: Wireless Adapter enables Pogoplugs to be placed anywhere in the home; existing users can get it for free!
Pogoplug is giving people what they want. Our customers have bombarded us with requests to add wireless connectivity to the Pogoplug, and we heard the message, loud and clear. Starting today, anyone can pre-order the Pogoplug Wireless Extender that makes any existing Pogoplug fully WiFi-enabled. Now users can place the Pogoplug anywhere in their homes without having to permanently connect it to a network router or wired Ethernet port.
The Pogoplug Wireless Extender is compatible with all previous versions of Pogoplugs and the recently announced Pogoplug Biz. Other recent improvements we’ve added to the Pogoplug include cloud printing, the updated Pogoplug Android application, the ability to share and collaborate on documents directly on the Pogoplug, and a very simple system of email upload. We are constantly striving to make the Pogoplug even better, and we would love to hear what your experience has been and how we can improve it. Keep sending those emails!
The Pogoplug Wireless Extender will work on 802.11 b/g/n networks and is available for pre-order now for $29.
In addition to the introduction of the new Wireless Extender, we are reducing the price of the current Pogoplug from $129 to $99.
Because of this price move and as a thank you to existing Pogoplug owners there is a special limited time offer; any existing owner of a Pogoplug can receive a promo code to get the new Wireless Adapter for free. To find out how, visit our Facebook page or our website support page.
The standard model Pogoplug can be ordered starting today for $99 at www.pogoplug.com.

In short, it’s all about making Pogoplug more serious, and making sure the files you share with others – via the straightforward email invite system – look like they’ve come from your company rather than Pogoplug’s generic site.  That includes adding in company logos and backgrounds, together with adding custom email addresses so that clients can send files directly to the Pogoplug Biz.

There’s also a web-only sharing feature, which Pogoplug say is intended for artists and the like who want to give clients a preview of a file but not let them download the original (though we guess they could always take a screenshot if they were really determined not to pay you).  The Pogoplug Biz is available for preorder today, priced at $299 with no ongoing fees.

Press Release:

Cloud Engines Launches New Pogoplug Biz for Business Users

Pogoplug Biz is the secure and inexpensive way for a business to access, share and send files over the Internet

Cloud Engines, Inc, announces today the introduction of the Pogoplug Biz, a new version of the company’s award-winning Pogoplug specifically designed for business use. The Pogoplug Biz offers safe and secure remotely accessible storage and a flexible system for controlling access to video, audio, photos, and documents from anywhere on the Internet.

The product installs in 60 seconds and requires no modification to network or firewall settings. Pogoplug Biz lets business owners use their own domain name(s) and customize (or “skin”) the user interface and email templates, enabling users to seamlessly represent their company whenever they share files online. A Pogoplug Biz, combined with one or more USB hard drives provides businesses with an extensible cloud storage solution with no monthly fees.

Pogoplug Biz features include:

- Usage Statistics and Auditing: quickly access a summary of how many times a file or folder has been viewed, streamed or downloaded. Keep track of the number of views, streams, and downloads.

- Customization: customize the look and feel of the Pogoplug interface, including the color, logo, domain name and background image. Customize the look and feel of emails that are sent when you share files.

- Custom Email Addresses: claim your own custom email addresses and let your clients email files to your Pogoplug. Create an unlimited number of custom upload folders and give them each a unique email address to share with your clients.

- Cloud/Mobile Printing: print from any mobile device, including the iPhone and iPad. Print to any printer connected to Pogoplug, from anywhere.

- Web View-Only Sharing: share viewable files over the web while preventing them from being downloaded. Web View is perfect for creative professionals and photographers who want to show clients previews of work but not allow them to download the files.

- Multiple Users: allows an administrator to set access levels and storage quotas for individual users.

- Remote backup: continuously mirror all or part of your Pogoplug storage to a second Pogoplug in a remote location.

“Businesses need online storage and sharing solutions that aren’t encumbered by fees or limitations,” said Daniel Putterman, CEO of Cloud Engines, Inc. “Pogoplug Biz gives companies a secure, private and customizable solution to solve this problem.”

The Pogoplug Biz is available for preorder at Pogoplug.com/buy. Pogoplug Biz costs $299 with lifetime Pogoplug service.

Useful Links
Pogoplug web site: www.pogoplug.com
Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/pogoplug
Pogoplug online community: www.pogoplugged.com

About the Pogoplug Biz

The Pogoplug Biz is a device that connects up to 4 external hard drives to the Internet. It is designed for businesses that need to share remote storage of a variety of file types via the Internet to co-workers and customers anywhere in the world. Robust customization allows the Pogoplug Biz to represent your company or brand effectively while maintaining Pogoplug’s famously easy set-up and use.

About Cloud Engines, Inc.
Founded in 2007 by experienced entrepreneurs from the digital media and security industries, Cloud Engines is located in San Francisco, California. The company was formed with a mission to change the way personal content is stored and distributed over the Internet. The Cloud Engines philosophy is that by making a product simple, open and affordable, the community will participate in making it better. For more information, please visit, www.cloudengines.com andwww.pogoplug.com

As with Pogoplug drives, the printers will be open to sharing using the straightforward browser-based UI.  Initially any HP or Epson USB printer from 2005 onward will be supported; we’re guessing Pogoplug are seeing the service as a rival to HP’s own ePrint system, which integrates the functionality into the printer itself but does require users buy a new model.

The cloud printing update will be automatically pushed to Pogoplug units sometime this summer.  Last month, Pogoplug released an update which allowed users to email files to their drives.

Press Release:

Pogoplug Puts Printers Online, Enables Printing From Any Mobile Device

Print from iPhone, iPad, Android or any other device, no matter where you are

Pogoplug, the popular multimedia sharing device, today announced a major upgrade with the launch of Pogoplug “web printing.” Now, for the first time, users can print from an iPhone, iPad, Android or other mobile device from anywhere in the world.

“Pogoplug’s vision is to free the modern digital lifestyle from dependence on an always-on home or office computer,” said Daniel Putterman, CEO and co-founder of Cloud Engines, Inc.  “First we changed the way people think about personal storage by making every hard drive accessible over the Internet. Now we’re web-enabling printers.”

Pogoplug cloud printing will initially support all HP printer models and all Epson printers released since 2005.  Set-up is simple and straightforward; once a printer is connected to a Pogoplug, it is ready to use.

Additionally, users can email any document directly to their Pogoplug for printing.  Printers can be shared with friends, family and colleagues or used to create printer ‘hotspots’ for temporary access to a printer in a public location.

The new Pogoplug “cloud printing” feature is coming automatically to existing and future Pogoplug customers later this Summer. There are no fees for the new feature.

Documents wise, here’s the list of supported formats:

Microsoft

Doc (Office 95 and newer) – .doc, .docx
Excel (Office 95 and newer) – .xls, .xlsx, xls5, xls95
PowerPoint (Office 97 and newer) – .ppt, .pptx
Microsoft Office open XML (.xml)

Open Office

Documents (.stw, .sxw)
Drawings (.sxd, .std,.odg)
Presentations (.sti,.sxi)
Spreadsheet (.stc,.sxc)

PDF, CSV, TXT, HTML, XHTML, OOXML, and RTF. Unlike the previous versions of Pogoplug, you’ll be able to access all of these document types without having to open up your word processor on your computer, like Open Office or Microsoft Word. Instead, it’ll open up in a friendly web-based word processor, right in the Pogoplug environment. You’ll be able to easily access it from the my.pogoplug.com site, which means you’ll be able to access the information quickly and easily, without having to open more applications.

Lastly, but definitely not the least, is the ability to now email documents, and other major attachments, to your Pogoplug. By emailing it to a dedicated email address, which is then authenticated by your own email address, it’ll get sent directly to your Pogoplug and no one else’s, from which you’ll be able to access it right away. The company sees it as a way to make customers, both business and non, have an easily accessible and always available document archive, for both text documents and pictures.

The update is beginning its roll-out starting today. You won’t need to renew anything, or configure any new settings, so it should be something that just gets handled, and you only notice the shiny new features, and not the hassle. If you get the update and check it out for yourself, let us know in the comments what you think of it.

[via Pogoplug]

Base drives range from 320GB to 2TB, and can be bought either as a starter pack complete with a USB 2.0 GoFlex adapter (from $99.99 for 320GB to $199.99 for 1TB), as the drive alone (from $89.99 for 320GB to $189.99 for 1TB) or as a Pro version offering a faster, 7,200rpm HDD and onboard encrypted backup functionality ($139.99 for 500GB; $189.99 for 750GB).  Meanwhile there’s a GoFlex Desk model ($129.99 for 1TB with USB 2.0; $199.99 for 2TB with USB 2.0; save $10 on each if bought adapter-free).  All the drives are Windows and OS X compatible out of the box.

As for the more advanced adapters, there’s USB 2.0 ($19.99), USB 3.0 ($29.99, or $79.99 with a bundled ExpressCard adapter for notebooks), FireWire 800 ($39.99), eSATA ($19.99) or auto-backup ($29.99).  There are two basic desktop docks, one with USB 3.0 ($39 or $79 with a bundled PCI Express USB 3.0 adapter) and one with FireWire 800/USB 2.0 ($49.99), and a GoFlex Intelligent Dock ($29.99) which has an easily visible “capacity gauge”.

Finally, there’s the GoFlex TV HD Media Player, for $129.99, which has a dock, two USB 2.0 ports, ethernet, an optional WiFi dongle and 1080p HDTV support, and can stream content from Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly and Picasa, the $99.99 GoFlex Net Media Sharing Device, which has a dock, a USB port and ethernet for streaming content locally and remotely (including to an iPhone, iPad or Android device) using the Pogoplug service.

Press Release:

SEAGATE INTRODUCES NEW ERA OF EXTERNAL STORAGE: A FLEXIBLE HARD DRIVE SOLUTION WITH MULTIPLE INTERFACE AND CONTENT SHARING OPTIONS

Protect. Store. Do More.…With the Seagate® GoFlex™ Storage System

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — May 4, 2010 — Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the worldwide leader in hard drives and storage solutions, today introduced the next evolution of the company’s award-winning FreeAgent® external hard drives—its new GoFlex™ storage solutions. This new family of external drives and accessories introduces a new level of flexibility to traditional USB 2.0 storage that will change the way people store, access, enjoy and share their digital content. The FreeAgent® GoFlex™ storage family includes easy, plug-and-play portable and desktop drives, with an array of cables and desktop adapters that allow each drive to adapt to the interface or device being used. The GoFlex family of hard disk drives is also specially designed to provide interoperability between operating systems in order to work with both Microsoft® Windows® and Mac® OS X computers.

“GoFlex™ interface cables are about providing the speed, performance and connectivity people need to support their interaction with their digital content. The explosive growth of video capture options and multimedia collecting is expanding personal digital libraries to terabytes worth of content within the home,” said Dave Mosley, executive vice president, Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. “These trends are driving demand for high-capacity, high-performance storage. The GoFlex™ family of storage products meets this need by delivering simple, USB 2.0 storage and backup devices, with the flexibility to adapt as interface technology advances by using the various GoFlex™ cables and accessories to access content stored on the same drive.”

Protect, store and access files through the interface of your choice
Recent survey results by the Yankee Group indicate that more than half of people planning to purchase a new hard drive consider the interface connection an important factor in their selection. GoFlex drives address this concern by providing a flexible, plug-and-play way to adapt to the most popular available interfaces or devices. The seamless GoFlex™ cable system enables the GoFlex™ and GoFlex™ Pro ultra-portable USB 2.0 drives to be upgraded to USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire 800 connections simply by switching out the cable adapter. Additionally, specially-designed GoFlex upgrade cables provide even more applications of how each drive can be used. For example, the GoFlexTM Upgrade cable – Auto Backup transforms the drive into a continuous full-system backup, giving consumers the peace of mind that their files and system settings are backed up, while leaving the remaining capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer

“As consumer’s lives become increasingly connected, people will demand capabilities beyond the traditional hard drive,” said Carl Howe, director, Anywhere Consumer Research, Yankee Group. “Consumers are looking not only for storage, but for new ways to use their digital content. Connecting, sharing, and repurposing content is part of the purchasing decision process for today’s ‘Anywhere Consumer’®.”

Do More with the GoFlex Storage System
Within the GoFlex family, Seagate has created a special ecosystem wherein people experience easy backup and enhanced protection of all their data—the same way they would expect a traditional hard drive to perform—only now their interaction with that content is not wholly dependent on the drive. In addition to several cable options, people can pair a GoFlex or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive with a GoFlex™ TV HD media player or the GoFlex™ Net media sharing device to enhance their experience of the drive’s content.

Using the GoFlex™ TV HD media player consumers can easily enjoy their personal digital media library on their television screen by inserting a GoFlex ultra-portable drive or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive directly into the media dock, or connecting a another storage device, digital or Flip camera to the two additional USB ports on the back of the device. Using the intuitive remote, owners of GoFlex TV HD media players can view movies, photos, and music from the comfort of their couch in 1080p high-definition and surround sound. Connect your GoFlex TV HD media player to the internet using the Ethernet or optional Wi-Fi adapter and stream digital content from a home network or popular online service providers such as Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly, Picasa and more

The GoFlex™ Net media sharing device transforms a GoFlex ultra-portable drive, GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive, or any USB mass storage, into a media sharing device, allowing consumers to enjoy their digital content outside their home using a PC, iPad, iPod Touch, Android or phone or any other internet-connected computer. The GoFlex Net media sharing device also integrates with social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and publishes RSS feeds allowing people to keep friends and family updatedGoFlex media sharing device owners can also stream content to other devices on a home network, including the GoFlex TV HD media player, to enjoy movies, photos and music on their TV.

Bridging the Gap between PC and Mac
For the first time, Seagate will include an NTFS driver for Mac® OS X on all GoFlex portable and desktop offerings, enabling storage and access of files from both Windows® and Mac computers. The NTFS driver is simply installed once on your Mac computer, and allows access and storage of files on a Windows formatted[1] drive.

With capacities ranging from 320GB to 2TB, FreeAgent GoFlex ultra-portable and desktop drives group high-capacity, adaptability and ease-of-use with all the backup and protection people have come to expect from Seagate. Available immediately through Seagate.com and select online retailers, the GoFlex storage family includes:

GoFlex Drives:
o GoFlexTM ultra portable drive—The core of the GoFlexTM Storage System. Available in 14.5mm and 22mm versions and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $99.99 for 320GB [silver, black]; $129.99 for 500GB (silver, black, red, blue); $169.99 for 750GB [silver and black]; $199.99 for 1TB [silver, black].
o GoFlexTM ultra portable drive, drive-only version. MSRP $89.99 for 320GB [silver, black]; $119.99 for 500GB [silver, black, red, blue]; $159.99 for 750GB [silver and black]; $189.99 for 1TB [silver, black].
o GoFlexTM Pro ultra portable drive kit—A 7200RPM, 2.5” drive that delivers premium backup with encryption and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $139.99 for 500GB; $189.99 for 750GB [black].
o GoFlexTM Pro ultra portable drive, drive-only version—MSRP $129.99 for 500GB; $179.99 for 750GB [black].
o GoFlexTM Desk external drive kit—Delivers high-capacity storage and automatic, continuous backup with encryption for all your files and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $129.99 for 1TB [black]; $199.99 for 2TB [black].
o GoFlexTM Desk external drive, drive-only version—MSRP $119.99 for 1TB [black]; $189.99 for 2TB [black].
GoFlex Cables and Adapters:
o GoFlexTM Cable – USB 2.0—The baseline interface for your GoFlexTM and GoFlexTM Pro ultra-portable drives. MSRP $19.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable – USB 3.0—Equips your GoFlexTM and GoFlexTM Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver up to 10x faster transfer of files vs USB 2.0, while being backwards compatible. MSRP $29.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable kit – USB 3.0—Includes ExpressCard adapter to update a laptop and GoFlexTM ultra-portable drives from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 and deliver up to 10x faster transfer of files than USB 2.0, MSRP $79.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable – FireWire® 800—Upgrades your GoFlexTM and GoFlexTM Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver 2x faster transfer speed over USB 2.0. MSRP $39.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable kit – eSATA—Empowers your GoFlexTM and GoFlexTM Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver up to 6x faster performance over USB 2.0. MSRP $19.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable – Auto Backup—Delivers continuous backup and protection of data giving consumers the peace of mind that their data is backed up, while leaving capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer. MSRP $29.99.

o GoFlexTM Desk Desktop adapter—USB 3.0—Allows the GoFlexTM Desk to deliver up to 10x faster transfer speed over USB 2.0 for your desktop PC. MSRP $39.00.
o GoFlexTM Desk Desktop adapter kit—USB 3.0—Includes PCI Express adapter to upgrade a desktop PC and GoFlexTM Desk external drive for USB 3.0 performance, MSRP $79.00.
o GoFlexTM Desk Desktop adapter—FireWire® 800/USB 2.0—Upgrades your GoFlex™ Desk external drive to deliver 2x faster performance over USB 2.0 with FireWire® 800/USB 2.0 for your desktop PC. MSRP $49.99.

GoFlex Storage System Devices:
o GoFlexTM TV HD media player—Allows for enjoyment of digital content on a TV. MSRP $129.99 for media player only.
o GoFlexTM Net media sharing device—Enables instant, easy access and sharing of content over a network. MSRP $99.99.
o GoFlexTM Intelligent dock—Transforms the GoFlex ultra portable drive into the perfect desktop solution that delivers convenient file access and backup with an easy-to-view capacity gauge. MSRP $29.99.

Compared to the sober first-gen Pogoplug adapter, which looked little more than a wall-wart AC adapter with a couple of ports, this second-gen hardware is quite the departure. Around the size of a thick hardback book standing on its edge, it’s a distinctive combination of white and clear plastic with a bight pink stand-cum-cable-tidy. Where the original had a single USB 2.0 port, this model has four: one on the front panel, above the status indicator LED, and three on the back above the gigabit ethernet port. The AC power brick has been subsumed into the main body of the Pogoplug, which is a neat touch, and with no fans it’s a silent box that, even powered on 24/7, doesn’t get more than warm.

Where regular NAS boxes integrate one or more drive bays into a single box, as well as the network connectivity, the Pogoplug keeps things more modular. Reasonably inexpensive USB external drives are used instead, or even USB memory sticks, and while there are four ports to choose from you can also throw in a USB hub and hook up even more storage. The benefit is that you can repurpose existing HDDs and make them network-visible, while adding capacity is the simple matter of plugging in another drive rather than having to open up a NAS chassis.

Pogoplug promises a 60-second installation, and while we weren’t quite that fast it was nonetheless straightforward getting set up. The Pogoplug hooks up to your router via the included ethernet cable, to the mains with the power cable, and then you plug in at least one USB 2.0 drive. The company’s setup site automatically recognises the drive and prompts you to create a username and password, before giving you access to the online control panel.

It’s all reasonably intuitive, with the system automatically scanning for movie, photo and music content on any attached drives and lumping them together under straightforward headings. Alternatively you can browse by files added or modified today, from the past week or past month, or go into specific volumes (including separate partitions on individual drives) and browse in a more granular fashion. It’s also possible to upload new files directly to one of the attached drives, though you can’t drag & drop across from a local folder to the web UI.

More usable, then, is the local software app, available for Windows or Mac, and which mounts the Pogoplug volumes as simple drives which can be navigated, copied to and from, and generally handled as normal. Our only issue with the local app was when online with our test MacBook Pro while outside the home network; whenever we attempted to use a photo upload service (unconnected with Pogoplug) the browser would hang. We soon realised this was due to the upload tool trying to check the Pogoplug drives every time; shut down the local app and the problem went away.

Pogoplug also promises to make sharing more straightforward, and there’s a prominent “Share This” button which, when clicked, allows you to invite people via email to look at the contents of the folder(s). There’s an address book for dealing with frequent contacts (though it doesn’t link into your computer’s address book) and you can add a personal message before sending the invite. Alternatively you can set the folder to automatically publish to one or more social networks, including Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, as an RSS feed, or as a public folder which doesn’t require a specific invite. Finally there’s an option to resend an invite whenever the contents of the folder changes.

The most obvious use is sharing multimedia content with friends and family. Rather than emailing out a huge ZIP of holiday photos, add them to a shared Pogoplug folder and invite people to view them remotely; keep a single folder of baby photos and let Pogoplug automatically alert grandparents whenever there’s a new batch to be coo’d over. Best of all, rather than a barebones FTP interface, contacts are presented with a dynamic gallery, streaming photos, audio and video straight into their browser. The online UI has a simple “Files I Share” pane to show what you’re offering at any one time, and there’s also a “Shared With Me” pane which, if you know someone with another Pogoplug, displays content from those remote drives. The latter could be useful if you have a Pogoplug at home and at work, for browsing media and documents from a single UI rather than logging in and out of two accounts.

There’s also sharing functionality for home use, with one of the recent Pogoplug firmware updates adding PS3 and Xbox 360 media streaming. A console on the same local network or connected remotely can see the drives automatically. The same update also brought with it updates to Active Copy, which is a basic folder/drive duplication tool. Originally, Active Copy used the Windows/OS X app to monitor one or more folders on your computer and automatically duplicate any new files to folder(s) on a Pogoplug drive. Now, in addition to that, you can have folders be automatically duplicated between Pogoplug-attached drives, plus if you’ve more than one Pogoplug you can have an attached drive (or a folder on a drive) be automatically copied from one Pogoplug to the other, handy for remote backups.

It’s useful, certainly, but it falls short of the kind of data security a proper RAID array would offer. RAID – where, in most configurations, drives are mirrored so that should one experience hardware failure the data is preserved on at least one other disk – is quicker at duplication, thanks to not having the USB 2.0 bottleneck to contend with, and it’s automatic across the whole volume, rather than being on a selective folder-by-folder basis. Of course, the benefit to Pogoplug’s system is that you can choose to duplicate only certain, particularly important folders, and the drives don’t – unlike RAID – need to be the same size. You could feasibly set up the Pogoplug to automatically copy any files on a USB memory stick plugged into the front panel port to a bigger HDD, for instance, offloading day to day documentation. There’s also nothing stopping you from plugging in a USB RAID array, which are rarer than NAS RAID storage but not impossible to find.

We touched on the USB 2.0 bottleneck, and that’s a point worth returning to. While it’s theoretically capable of 480 Mbits/s, in day to day use USB 2.0 is unlikely to ever get that high. That means transferring large files (or large numbers of smaller files) will take longer than on a regular NAS, and it’s worth pointing out that, when we tried to move around a few particularly large videos, the system froze and required a power-cycle. You’ll also probably want to make sure your router has gigabit ethernet ports, too, if the drives are likely to be accessed by several people simultaneously. It’s disappointing that the Pogoplug only has USB 2.0 and not FireWire, eSATA or even USB 3.0 connections, but perhaps that’s asking too much for the $129 sticker price (and, arguably, unlikely to be required by the mainstream consumer who is a big part of Pogoplug’s target audience). The takeaway message is that if you’re looking for the fastest way to backup or access files across a network, or to stream high-definition content, then you should probably choose a more normal NAS.

Most “normal” NAS don’t come with a range of mobile clients, however, and that’s another big plus in the Pogoplug’s favour. Currently there are iPhone and Android apps (the former being compatible with the iPod touch and the iPad) which allow you to log into your Pogoplug from the handset, browse folders, view video, audio and photo slideshows, and even – handset depending – upload files like photos directly to the remote storage. The apps work well, though we did have a couple of crashes on the Android version, but it’s worth noting that there’s currently no iPad-formatted version. Instead you can either use the regular iPhone app, doubled in size, or log directly into the online control panel which Pogoplug have – as an interim measure of sorts – made fully HTML5 compliant so you can still stream video and audio despite the lack of Flash support. We’re guessing there’s a native iPad version on the way, though there’s no public timescale for its availability. Still, if your media gallery exceeds the storage capacity of your mobile device then it’s a handy way of having access to masses of content with very little headache.

“Very little headache” is actually a good way to describe the Pogoplug. If you’re looking for a set-and-forget backup system then it’s not quite ideal – RAID duplicates everything on the drive, after all, whereas you’ll need to make sure your Active Copy folders are set up correctly on the Pogoplug – and the freedom to use regular USB drives comes with a sacrifice in speed. However, for most home users (and perhaps some small business ones too), network backup is only part of what they’re expecting from a NAS-style solution, with media sharing, painless online access and an affordable entry price all carrying equal import. On those fronts the Pogoplug does much better, with a straightforward UI and a sharing feature that should be usable by all but the most tech-phobic grandparents.

Our guess is that a USB 3.0 version is on the cards somewhere down Pogoplug’s roadmap, but that’s likely far off in the distance and, for the moment, USB 2.0 is probably fast enough for home users. It’s the ease of use that makes the Pogoplug such a success, though; if you’re a netbook user, have picked up an iPad or iPhone with limited onboard storage but still want a big catalog of video to choose from, or simply prefer to keep your files locked up at home rather than on a notebook or memory stick that could be lost or stolen, Pogoplug represents a straightforward workaround. And hey, if you really do find the color that offensive, you can always hide it under the desk.

According to Pogoplug, your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 should automatically see any attached hard-drive and automatically be able to stream video, photo and music content from it across the network.  Meanwhile, the updated Active Copy will obviously require you to have a second Pogoplug somewhere else, but it could be handy if you want to mirror data at both the home and the office.

Pogoplug say the updated firmware will be automatically pushed out to units worldwide from this morning, as long as they have an internet connection.  The functionality answers two of our main criticisms of the device, and brings it back into the game against Iomega’s iConnect which we reviewed last week.

Press Release:

Pogoplug™ Launches Media Streaming and Offsite Backup

San Francisco, Calif. – March 16th, 2010 – Pogoplug, the multimedia sharing device that allows users to access their media anywhere on the web, today adds two new features to the award-winning device. Starting today, Pogoplug users can stream content to Xbox 360 and PS3 game consoles. The enhanced Active Copy feature now automatically copies files to a Pogoplug in another location.

With game console support, Pogoplug owners can now easily access, share, and stream their media directly to their Xbox 360 or PS3 from any local or remotely located Pogoplug. Gamers can watch home movies from their Pogoplug connected external hard drive on their Xbox 360 or PS3, share slideshows or listen to their entire music library without ever putting down their game controller. The Xbox 360 or PS3 automatically sees the drives connected to the Pogoplug and the contents of other shared Pogoplugs.

“By adding media streaming capabilities to the Xbox 360 and PS3 through your Pogoplug, we are making it easier than ever to access your media on your television,” said Daniel Putterman, Cloud Engines CEO. “The new version of Active Copy is revolutionary. Now anyone can easily keep a safe copy of their files in another location.”

Active Copy enables users to backup folders on their computer to a Pogoplug connected drive. Whenever new files are added, or changes are made to an existing file within the Active Copy enabled folder, these files are automatically copied to a chosen destination folder. Now users can also use Active Copy to automatically backup key files from one Pogoplug to another off-site Pogoplug, for additional safety and redundancy.

Both features came from user requests and both update to all Pogoplugs worldwide via an automatic firmware upgrade today. For support or other questions, please visit the support page at www.Pogoplug.com/support and the community website, www.pogoplugged.com.

Once that’s done, any drive plugged in to any of the four USB 2.0 ports (or, indeed, even more drives using a USB hub) can be accessed via the web interface, either locally or across the internet (either from a computer or certain smartphone mobile clients).  There’s automatic synchronization between the Pogoplug account and iTunes, iPhoto or Windows Media Player libraries, together with more straightforward browsing and even a global search function that turns up content no matter which volume it’s stored on.

Pogoplug have also made sharing with third-parties – such as friends and family – easier, thanks to a new addressbook that automatically remembers anybody you previously shared a folder with.  Shared slideshows can be created using drag & drop within the browser, and video  - just like music on the first-gen model – can be streamed directly through the browser.

The company expect the second-gen Pogoplug to ship in time for the 2009 holidays, and are taking pre-orders now with an MRSP of $129; there are no ongoing service fees.

Press Release:

Second Generation Pogoplug™ Unveiled Today

Next-generation Hardware Design and Software Provide Enhanced Storage, Multimedia and Social Media Capabilities

San Francisco, Calif. – November 19, 2009 – Cloud Engines, Inc. unveiled the second generation of the award winning Pogoplug multimedia sharing device today giving consumers more flexibility to store personal content safely in the home and access, manage, and share it from anywhere on the Internet. The new Pogoplug hardware sports a new design boasting multiple USB ports supporting up to 4 external drives for expanded data capacity. The new Pogoplug also gives users improved sharing capabilities, an easy drag-and-drop interface to create engaging multi-media slide shows, seamless media playback, and enhanced sharing with friends on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Pogoplug acts like a gateway from your home or office through the Internet. It allows you to access, share and even stream your personal digital media directly to anybody, anywhere in the world. Your content always remains physically in your home or office, making it secure, convenient and available on your terms. Pogoplug is perfect for those individuals with increasingly mobile lifestyles and small businesses in need of simple, inexpensive mobile data access solutions.

“The reaction to the Pogoplug has been incredible. By listening to user feedback and following our own product roadmap, we are bringing a great second-generation product that gives our customers access to a host of new features that both improve the function of the Pogoplug, and add to the fun of using it as well.” said Daniel Putterman, CEO of Cloud Engines, Inc. “We are committed to giving our customers the best way to access their data from anywhere in the world, pushing the envelope with both product quality and design aesthetic. The result is what you see here today.”

NEW HARDWARE
The new Pogoplug design retains the simplicity and ease of use of the original while listening to consumer feedback and adding the ability to directly connect up to 4 external hard drives at once. The resulting product boasts an improved design with greatly improved functionality for users with multiple drives and an increasing need for easy synching and sharing of their digital libraries. This upgrade turns the Pogoplug into an even more prominent feature in the modern digital home or small business.

NEW FEATURES

Automatically Synchronize Photos, Videos, Music and Other Selected Content
Users can synchronize their Pogoplug with their PC or Mac to automatically import new content from popular applications such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, and iPhoto. This feature allows Pogoplug owners to “set it and forget it” and always have access to new photos, videos and music from anywhere on the Internet.

Drag-and-Drop Music and Photo Slideshows
Users can easily create and share fun and engaging slideshows using their stored photos, videos and music. Creating a slideshow with Pogoplug is as simple as drag and drop, and sharing these slideshows is just as easy as ever. Once a user’s link is shared and viewed, their slideshow will immediately begin with the photos, videos and music they selected, playing seamlessly in the viewer’s browser.

Easier Sharing with Pogoplug Address Book
Pogoplug Address Book greatly improves the speed and ease of use of sharing with a user’s friends and family. Pogoplug automatically remembers all email addresses entered in a user’s previous shares – even if that share no longer exists – and makes them available in an easy to use address book to make sharing truly one click away.

Global Search Across Multiple Drives and Pogoplugs
With support for multiple drives on a single Pogoplug (and multiple Pogoplugs on the same account) Pogoplug has added “global” search support across all of a user’s Pogoplugs and drives. Search filters are now a distinct feature, allowing users to view all of their photos, videos and music in a single organized view, or to search for a specific file across all Pogoplugs and drives.

Organize Your Music, Photos and Videos
Pogoplug automatically displays music by Album, Artist and Genre, and shows cover art for quick access to a user’s favorite music. Photos are now displayed by photo timeline and videos are only a click away, including the ability to watch a preview in the thumbnail itself.

Play movies directly from my.pogoplug.com, or even to the iPhone
Pogoplug now supports the playback of videos directly from a Pogoplug, with support for the most popular cameras, video cameras and mobile phones. Movies can be shared and viewed directly from the Pogoplug website – or even from an iPhone!

Pricing and Availability
We are currently taking Pre-Orders for Pogoplug at www.pogoplug.com Units will ship before the end of the year – just in time for the Holiday Season. The Pogoplug has a suggested retail price of $129, with no additional service fees.

USEFUL LINKS
• Pogoplug web site: www.pogoplug.com
• Product photos: www.flickr.com/photos/pogoplug
• Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/pogoplug
• Pogoplug online community: www.pogoplugged.com

ABOUT THE POGOPLUG
The Pogoplug is a device that connects up to 4 external hard drives to the Internet. It is designed for consumers who have an external hard drive and have high speed Internet. Consumers can securely access and share all of their content [Files, Photos, and Video] from any Web browser or enabled mobile device with no additional monthly fees. Free your inner drive.

ABOUT CLOUD ENGINES, INC.
Founded in 2007 by experienced entrepreneurs from the digital media and security industries, Cloud Engines is located in San Francisco, California. The company was formed with a mission to change the way personal content is stored and distributed over the Internet. The Cloud Engines philosophy is that by making a product simple, open and affordable, the community will participate in making it better. For more information, please visit our Web site, www.cloudengines.com.

What dissuades most users from setting up remote access is the hassle of network settings. Home broadband connections often charge extra for static IP addresses, meaning the string of digits you have to remember in order to access your home network can change without you necessarily realising it. That, together with NAT firewall confusion and concern over just who has access to your shared files, is often enough to scupper any half-hearted intention to open up a NAS.

Seagate get round this by using Pogoplug‘s technology, or more accurately by squeezing a Pogoplug adapter into the dock itself. Pogoplug, first announced back at CES in January, is a combination hardware/software system that makes sharing USB drives over the internet straightforward through an online interface. The basic Pogoplug adapter looks like an overgrown wall-wart, with a single USB port (for the hard-drive) and an ethernet port. Register the adapter at their site and, by tapping in your account details from any internet-connected computer, you can access the files on the drive and even stream audio/video content.

To that basic system Seagate add a far more streamlined dock design, which takes a standard Seagate FreeAgent Go drive slotted in almost perpendicularly, together with an extra three USB 2.0 ports (two on the rear, by the ethernet port, and a third on the side) to add extra external storage. Setup is incredibly simple – at least for the basic functionality – requiring only that power and ethernet connections be made, a FreeAgent Go drive docked, and then stopping by the online registration site to create a user account. A single green LED lights up to show that the dock is online.

From that point on, when you remember you want a copy of the presentation you were working on at home, would like to show your parents a slideshow of holiday snaps, or fancy listening to the new album you’ve downloaded, it’s a simple case of visiting the site and logging in to remotely access your content. You can share directories, too, either by automatically emailing out links – with read or read/write permissions – or via an RSS feed. There’s also an iPhone application, and various levels of integration with social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The $99.99 sticker price of the DockStar includes a year’s worth of Pogoplug service (though no FreeAgent Go drive, which start at $89.99 for 250GB); after that period you’re looking at a further yearly subscription of $29.99, and that’s where we can’t quite follow Seagate’s thinking. A basic Pogoplug adapter is also $99 and demands no subscription fee; the DockStar throws extra USB connections into the mixture, but that’s nothing you couldn’t add to the Pogoplug by virtue of a USB hub. The user experience for both is the same.

Our second headache came with trying to access the FreeAgent across the home network, rather than through the Pogoplug interface. While you can certainly log into the drive via Pogoplug from one of your home computers, gaining file access that way, it would make far more sense to connect directly via the dock. Unfortunately Seagate’s documentation is less than comprehensive in explaining how this is set up (though the outer packaging does refer to it); in short, Samba SMB shares are established and managed via the DockStar account page online, rather than via a local interface. After you’ve done that, machines on the same local network will be able to access the DockStar-docked drives as if they were a traditional NAS; moreover, you’ll be able to do that without an active subscription.

It’s arguably something that home users – at whom the DockStar is so obviously targeted – wouldn’t especially want to do, but it’s a hiccup in what was otherwise a relatively streamlined setup process. When you’re selling your product on the virtue of simplicity (and if you’re demanding a service fee then we reckon that’s exactly what you should be delivering) then every aspect of it should be so obvious. You could give your tech-naive parents the DockStar to set up and they’d probably have only minor difficulties getting the Pogoplug service activated, but local network sharing would likely be beyond them. A default active Samba share for the whole volume, shared with the same password as used for the remote access, would be one obvious way around the situation.

In the end, though, it’s the subscription charge that sticks in our craw, not least because it’s so obviously been added by Seagate rather than demanded by Pogoplug. Given Seagate’s visibility in retail stores most buyers of the DockStar are unlikely to ever discover that they could have had pretty much the same user experience without tying themselves into a yearly fee, and that feels unfair. If you’re desperate to avoid the wiring required by plugging a USB hub into a Pogoplug then the Seagate is the neater solution, but we reckon most people – like us – would decide that $30 saved each year was enough to forgive it that.

Various companies have partnered with Marvell to offer Plug Computers in multiple form-factors.  These range from Axentra, who have a new touch*mediacenter mini designed to store and share digital content, Eyecon Technologies, who are positioning their version as a multi-source UPnP/DLNA aggregator, and CodeLathe, whose TonidoPlug is a home server offering local and remote access to documents, apps and media.  Ionics have taken a more general approach, positioning their Plug Computer as a tiny Linux PC, while ProSyst have integrated OSGI and Java to their version, to enable developers to more easily port existing apps and create new software.  Finally, WebTView have loaded their own software to discover and play internet TV.

The various form-factors include a simple box that closely resembles the original SheevaPlug prototype, together with more streamlined and even circular designs.  Of course, as well as the development device from Marvell themselves, the first retail device based on the reference design is already available, in the shape of the PogoPlug.

According to Marvell, a Plug Computer uses less than one tenth of the power of a regular home server PC.  It supports multiple Linux 2.6 kernel distributions, and is available to developers now for $99.

Press Release:

Marvell Introduces Plug Computing to Europe

SheevaPlug Now Available to Developers in Europe; Ecosystem Partners Commit to Retail Products for Consumers

Santa Clara, CA (June 24, 2009) —Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL), a leader in storage, communications, and consumer silicon solutions, today announced that developers in Europe can now purchase SheevaPlugTM development kits, outfitted for regional electrical specifications, through www.plugcomputer.org from Ionics EMS, Inc. and Globalscale Technologies. In addition to broadening the outreach to application developers, Marvell is growing the plug computing ecosystem by working with retail vendors such as BUFFALO INC., D-Link, LaCie and Seagate, who plan to launch retail versions of the plug computer for the consumer market.

“The Plug Computer is one of the more amazing technologies that have come out this decade and it has the potential to change the world,” said Rob Enderle Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group. “The open plug platform gives European developers the opportunity to create applications, services, and solutions that are only limited by their imaginations.”

Marvell introduced the Plug Computing initiative to make high-performance, always on, always connected, and environmentally friendly computing readily available for developers and end-users. A Plug Computer is small enough to plug directly into a wall socket and is designed to draw so little power that it can be left on all of the time. Unlike other embedded devices in the home, it contains a gigahertz class processor that is designed to offer PC class performance.

“The wide range of applications created from the open-developer SheevaPlug platform serves both retail product partners and service providers,” said Dr. Simon Milner, Vice President and General Manager of the Enterprise Business Unit, Consumer and Communications Business Group at Marvell Semiconductor.  “We are thrilled to introduce SheevaPlug to the European developer community and look forward to seeing many new applications and new consumer product ideas developed and brought to market.  Moreover, Marvell is delighted to collaborate with retail partners such as BUFFALO INC., D-Link, LaCie and Seagate on delivering new levels of user experience to consumers”

The plug computing ecosystem is rapidly expanding to include a full value chain of product partners, application developers and educational institutions. A full list of ecosystem partners is available at www.marvell.com
About the SheevaPlug Development Platform

The SheevaPlug development platform uses a Marvell KirkwoodTM processor based on an embedded 1.2GHz Sheeva™ CPU equipped with 512 Mbytes of FLASH and 512 Mbytes of DRAM. Connection to the home network is via Gigabit Ethernet. Peripherals such as direct attached storage can be connected using a USB 2.0 port. Multiple standard Linux 2.6 kernel distributions are supported on the SheevaPlug development platform enabling rapid application development. The enclosure is designed to plug directly into a standard wall socket and is designed to draw less than one tenth of the power of a typical PC being used as a home server.

About Marvell

Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a leader in the development of storage, communications, and consumer silicon solutions. The company’s diverse product portfolio includes switching, transceiver, communications controller, wireless, and storage solutions that power the entire communications infrastructure including enterprise, metro, home, and storage networking. As used in this release, the terms “company” and “Marvell” refer to Marvell Technology Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries. For more information, visit http://www.marvell.com.

The Pogoplug (pictured above) allows the creation of a personal file-sharing cloud for access anywhere on the internet. You can send and retrieve files, stream movies and music, and do anything else you want as if you were actually plugged into the external drive. This is definitely a handy option for users who lose thumb-drives but still need copious amounts of storage on the go.

The Pogoplug iPhone application is Free, but requires the $99 Pogoplug to work. If anyone makes the purchase, let us know how it works out. Hopefully we can get our hands on one to try it out soon.

[Pogoplug and the Pogoplug App]

Eventually, prices are expected to drop to around $49.  Among the first products to hit the market based on the Sheeva plug-computer design will be the Pogoplug, which so impressed us back at CES 2009.  The Pogoplug is designed to simply take a USB hard-drive and turn it into network attached storage, accessible not only from the home network but through a web-based portal.  It’s expected to cost around $99 when it launches in a few months time, but preorders are being taken at just $79.

Meanwhile expect the SheevaPlug to find plenty of new fans among the open-source community; it’ll play nicely with “multiple standard Linux 2.6 kernel distributions”.  Its eco-credentials are good, too, with Marvell claiming it uses less than one tenth of the power of a typical PC being used as a home server.

[via The Tech Report]

Just plug the Pogoplug into an internet line and follow the simple setup instructions and you will be able to access your music and video content as well as any other files you may have through any web browser securely outside of your home with no need to configure or compromise your firewall.

The Pogoplug is designed to offer anyone a simple and affordable solution to carrying your hard drives around with you. Last year alone over seven million drives were sold in the US alone with numbers growing as the general public becomes more aware of the technology. This service also works with the growing number of iPhones and BlackBerry handsets as well as many other HTML web browsers. We are not 100 percent sure about the available date, but you will be able to pick up the Pogoplug for $99 when it does release.