personal cloud station
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Sony's Personal Content Station uses NFC for mobile backups, aims for April release in Japan
After briefly popping up at CES, Sony's Personal Content Station (aka the "LLS-201") has just been pegged with an April 30th release date in Japan -- that's a good month before it's set to reach the States. The $299, 1TB drive uses NFC for quick pairing with Android phones and tablets, followed by an app for managing the actual backups over WiFi. If you're using a non-NFC device like an iPhone or a Sony WiFi camera, then worry not -- it's possible to achieve the same results using WiFi alone, and you can also use an SD card or USB to get data across. Other notables include a built-in video transcoder that automatically creates mobile-friendly MP4 versions from stored AVCHD files, plus an HDMI port for playback on a TV. Finally, the bowl-shaped device comes with a "ceramic-style" finish to complement your mantelpiece, from where it can frown down upon cheaper, fatter alternatives like Toshiba's Canvio Personal Cloud. Lovers of Japanese and jazz piano will find a nice little promo video after the break.
