Netgear delves into consumer NAS market with $229 1TB Stora
Clearly autumn is a time for change, and with Seagate diving cautiously into the consumer NAS market just last week, it follows logic to think that rival Netgear would do likewise. The company has had a few years of experience with professional and business-minded NAS units, but the now-available Stora is the first dumbed-down version meant to cater to the masses (and the strapped-for-cash). Essentially, it's targeting users who want to make their media catalog available over the internet, and there's even a MyStora.com location that lets users easily access files remotely when an FTP client just feels far too intimidating.
It's compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows platforms, it can double as an iTunes or DLNA server and it ships in a two-bay configuration that is automatically setup to mirror data. Oddly enough, the $229 MS2110 model includes only a single 1TB drive, though we definitely prefer this setup over having twin 500GB HDDs; after all, any shopper worth their salt can snap up an extra 1TB unit for a lot less than Netgear would sell it to 'em.Oh, and we're told that an "optional yearly premium service to support additional remote access and third-party service integration such as Flickr and mobile phones is available for $19.99 after an initial 30-day trial period," but frankly, that doesn't sound appealing at all.
NETGEAR'sStora Brings Easy-to-Use, Internet-connected Storage to Consumers Everywhere
New Storage Device with Remote Access Enables Home Users to Share Photos with Friends without Uploading to Internet Sites
SAN JOSE, Calif. - September 21, 2009 - NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR),a worldwideprovider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, and network storage leader in the business and prosumer market with its ReadyNAS® line, today announced NETGEAR Stora, a new, easy-to-use network attached storage (NAS) device for home media. Stora enables consumers to easily centralize photos, music, movies and files and use them on nearly any network device. With a smooth user interface designed for non-technical users, Stora lets consumers easily share their photos and videos with friends without the time-consuming process of uploading them to Internet sites or transferring them over email. Through an intuitive and graphical user interface on www.MyStora.com, users and their designated friends and relatives can remotely access their media files from any Internet-connected device, such as laptops, PCs and smartphones.
"We strongly feel that Stora exemplifies the next-generation of consumer storage devices," said Drew Meyer, director of marketing for NETGEAR's Network Storage Business Unit. "NETGEAR has already made its mark in the business and prosumer market with our ReadyNAS line, but Stora is most definitely a platform for everyone.Stora gives users the features they need today with a consumer-friendly user interface and price point, making their media available to them and their designated friends and families anytime, anywhere-even on mobile smartphones. It truly sets a new bar for the consumer network storage market."
Store:Compatible with Mac, PC and Linux systems, NETGEAR'sStora puts music, movies, photos, and filesat the heart of the home network, centralized in a single, safe location.
Share:With remote access via www.MyStora.com, Stora enables cross-platform file sharing, music listening, movie watching and photo sharing from any Internet-connected device. In addition to sharing files over the web, users can also share photos, videos and files between home computers and home media players. Stora can centralize music collections and play music through iTunes. It can also automatically integrate content with remote photo frames and social networking sites such as Facebook. Stora can also serve content to other networked devices such as Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)-enabled photo frames, XBox 360and PlayStation3 game consoles, andiPhone and Blackberrymobile phones.
Protect:With two standard drive bays that automatically mirror data, Stora offers plug-and-play protection that safeguards valuable data. Users can simply add a second drive, on the fly, without any tools. Stora also comes with automatic backup utilities for PCs and Macs, so individual system content is backed up regularly.
"Today's consumers face a conundrum when trying to manage newly acquired or created digital content among various computing devices inside and outside the home," said David Reinsel, group vice president of IDC's storage and semiconductor research groups."Historically, personal storage devices have proven competent at providing reliable storage capacity and data protection within the home, but not always accessible from outside the home or across multiple devices. With this new product, NETGEAR looks to solve these common problems for consumers."
NETGEAR Stora (MS2110) comes with a 1 TB disk and one extra drive bay that can be used to insert an optional disk for mirroring. The productis immediately available through selected North American retail and e-commerce stores. Stora will be available from leading European and Asia Pacific retail locations in approximately two weeks. Stora is backed by a three-year warranty and 24/7 technical supportand the Stora (MS2110) model has an MSRP in the U.S. of $229. An optional yearly premium service,to support additional remote access and third-party service integrationsuch as Flickrand mobile phones,is available for $19.99 after an initial 30-day trial period.
