Last updated December 8th, 2009 but we'll update this list as the new stuff replaces the old and crusty. We read and write reviews so you don't have to!

Smartphones

• The Best Smartphones: We like the iPhone, the Motorola Droid because it runs Android 2.0 operating system, and the Palm Pre for people who have stuck with Sprint. We do not like anything Symbian or Windows Mobile 6.5, for the time being. (But are excited for Windows Mobile 7.)

• Cheapest Android Phones: Droid Eris and HTC Hero.

• The Best Smartphones, By Carrier: We sorted out theses answers on Nov 24th, but this category moves quickly so stay sharp when researching.

• Best Windows Mobile Phone We Wish Didn't Run Windows Mobile 6.5: The HTC HD2

• Best BlackBerry: If you're into phones with exceedingly reliable push email, the Bold 9700 is your phone. (We don't like Blackberry's touchscreen interfaces, so the Storms are no good.)

• Non-Smartphones: You mean dumbphones? No thank you.

Computers

• Netbook: If you must get one of these small, cheap and utterly slow machines, the HP Mini 311 with ion graphics is a good one. The Samsung N140 along with the Toshiba mini NB205 are also excellent picks.

• Netbook for Hackintoshing: Dell Mini 10v (and it must be the v) is the top choice. Here's our guide to making it run OS X.

• Laptop: Our bias for OS X and Windows 7 becomes apparent in our choice of hardware that can run both without hacking. Macbook Pros. (Plus, we like unibody construction.)

• Best Non-Apple Laptops: Dell's Adamo XPS may not be fast but it is "insane," raising the bar on design and quality outside of Cupertino. We also like Thinkpads in general, like the X series and the new multitouch t400s. (It's probably also worth noting that Asus and Toshiba recently came out on top in reliability.) And here are our faves at every pricepoint.

• Gaming Laptops and Desktops: Our friend Will Smith at Maximum PC likes these two laptops and two desktops. I personally like Xbox.

• All in One: We like the iMac, the HP Touchsmart and although we haven't used it yet, the Sony Vaio L because it can double as a TV even when the PC is off. The PCs here have infrared touchscreens, so they do multitouch, but in a really shoddy way.

• MIDs: We hate MIDs. Always have, always will. Intel said they had the tech to make them; but the world never had the need. It either fits in a backpack and lets you do real work on a real screen and keyboard, or it fits in your pocket. There's no real need for anything inbetween.

• Operating Systems: Windows 7 or Snow Leopard

• Network attached storage: We like the HP Mediasmart series with upnp, iTunes and Time Machine servers among other things. But the Iomega NAS is only a little less fancy and costs half the price.

Audio

• The Best receiver under $1000: We haven't tested one in awhile, but we're going to go out on a limb and say we like Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha and Pioneer gear. While some of our own testing is in progress, we'll go with what our friends at Sound and Vision like: The Onkyo TX-SR706 7.1 receiver with 4HDMI ports and THX certification for $900.

• The Best High-End Portable Media Players: Zune HD and the iPod Touch. We Like the Zune pass system a lot, which allows you to keep 10 songs a month out of your unlimited downloads, even after you stop subscribing. But the iPod Touch's large app library makes it a powerful little computer.

• Best high-capacity media player: iPod classic is pretty much the only one left, since Zune has been discontinued and Archos is a mess.

• Flash Media Drives: We've always loved the screenless shuffle's utility, but there are other drives to be had with more functionality for cheaper. Especially now that the buttonless iPod shuffle is sort of annoying to use. We like the Sandisk Sansa Clip+.

• Surround Soundbar: There's only one series of soundbars that uses cold war submarine tech to bounce soundwaves off your walls for surround, and they're made by Yamaha. I tested the YSP-4000.

• iPod Speaker Dock: JBL OnStage 400p (A winner from last year — I'm almost certain we should be retesting this category)

Video

• Best HDTV under $1000: Panasonic's X1 series plasmas, and four more here.

• Best HDTVs, period: Here.

• 1080p Projectors Under $1000: The Vivitek H1080FD is one we like, although we have not tested many.

• Best Monitors: If your'e a Mac user, the 24-inch Cinema Display has a built in magsafe adapter. The Asus 23-inch VH236H is good deal at about $230, but Samsung and Dell are our solid choices for monitor brands, as well.

• The Best Pocket Projectors: There is no such thing, friend. Wait a generation or 3.

• Blu-ray player: The LG BD390 with WiFi with Netflix and DivX playback is awesome, but we'll never leave out the PS3!

• Media Streamers for People Who Hate iTunes or Love Piracy: The WDTV Live is a good one for people who like it easy, but hackers will probably choose Popcorn Hour, both which did well in our battlemodo. However, the current king is the Asus O!Play, which also wins an award for worst use of an exclamation point in a name.

Cameras

• Best Entry-Level Video-Capable DSLR: Canon T1i

• Best Midrange DSLR: The Nikon D90 has the same sensor as the D300 at a better price.

• Best Prosumer DSLRs: The Canon 7D is great at shooting video and has great low light performance for an 18MP camera.

• Best Flash Camcorder: The Flip Ultra HD.

• Best Quality Point and Shoot: We like the Canon G11 (which is pretty big, but pretty wonderful.)

• A Camcorder We Like: We haven't tested any in awhile, but we tend to like DSLRs that shoot video or cheap flash camcorders. If you must have a camcorder, our friends at CamcorderInfo drafted this list with the best at every price.

• Best Point and Shoot: We like the Canon S90, even though we're sure there are slimmer cameras. This uses the same sensor as the G11 and a faster lens, so it takes great shots for a slim.

• Best Rugged Cameras: The Pentax W80 is the best all around camera because of it's depth and temperature ratings and size. The Lumix has the best picture quality but is a bit of a wimp with low thresholds for dives and temperatures. Canon's the best for water only because of its huge nose. And the outstandingly rugged Olympus has a fatal flaw, which is its terrible video.

• Best Helmet Camera: We love the GoPro Hero HD Wide because it mounts anywhere, is really waterproof and lives in a protected case. Plus, 1080p for $250 bucks.

• Best Slow Motion Pocket Camera: Casio EX FC100

Random Stuff

• The Best iPhone Apps: Here's our monthly list of iPhone Apps, as well as our weekly roundups of the best new releases.

• The best GPS: It's really hard to justify these when smartphones are doing so well with their turn by turn apps. But they still need car docks and some of their UIs are not great, so if you want a dedicated unit, bide your time with the cheapest Garmin Nuvi you can find. Usually about $125 at Amazon.

• The Best iPhone GPS Apps: Motion X GPS is our favorite value GPS app, but ALK's CoPilot is another cheap champ. Navigon is still the classiest, but it costs a lot. (We're hoping for free Google Maps with Navigation to come to iPhone.)

• The Best Android Apps: There aren't as many Android apps out, but here are the ones we think are worth checking out.

• Ebook reader: Now that we've reviewed the Barnes & Noble Nook, we can safely say there are finally two great contenders. But until Nook gets some firmware updates making it smoother and quicker, Amazon's latest Kindle will remain king.

• USB drive: The Patriot Xporter is fast, but if you have cash to spare, the Corsair Voyager GT is slightly faster and has 128GB of space.

• The Best Video Game Console: Xbox 360

• The Best Video Service: Anything, really, combined with Hulu and Netflix (for free old stuff).

• Best mid-tier office chairs: Herrman Miller Setu and Steelcase Cobi.

• Vacuums: We will always be loyal to Sir James Dyson because he tried to sell bagless vacuum tech to big vacuum corporations and they shut him down motivated by the profitability of bag sales. Then he started his own company. His machines are loud, but you can't argue with their industrial design. Here's his latest handheld and ball vacuum.

• Routers: D-Link Dir685. I know it has a digital picture frame built into it, but it also has a HDD and a bittorrent client. And Jason says it's been more reliable than the top line Linksys he tested it against. I also like the Time Capsule, but haven't yet tested the one with 2x the wireless performance.

• The Best Headphones: For in ear buds, we like the Shure SE110/SE115, Ultimate Ears Metro.fi and Etymotics hf5 won our tests. (The Last updated August 2008, so look for updates to winners.) We like the Klipsch Image S4i earbuds for people who want to use the iPhone's voice control or iPod shuffle's Voiceover function. For Bluetooth stereo headsets, we like the Motorola s305.

• Rechargeable Batteries: Duracell destroyed Energizer, and kept up with the legendary Sanyo Enerloops.

• Mice: For gaming, the Microsoft Sidewinder X8. The Logictech MX1100 for regular mousing. And the Magic Mouse is not amazing, but it's pretty good if you have a Mac—the best mouse Apple has ever made.

• Keyboard: We like the Logitech DiNovo.

Suggestions? Requests for review? Leave em in the comments or email us!

I say that because HTPCs have never been smaller, cheaper or more powerful. A little over two years ago, we were talking about how purchasing an HD-capable PC would leave you with an empty bank account. Take this Sony Vaio TP1 for example. The wheel of cheese design was considered compact and "living room friendly" at the time, but it is still probably twice as big as current nettop models. The specs are lacking even by 2007 standards and it started at $1600. Today I can easily go out and find a more powerful, feature rich nettop for less than $400. And it would be small enough to tuck behind your HDTV due, in part, to cheap, compact, graphics-friendly chipsets like Nvidia Ion.

Today's Most Affordable HTPCs

Seriously...HTPCs for less than $400. Sure, you could spend a lot of cash on something more elaborate, and will have to if you want to access your own digital cable stream, or if you want to go with Blu-ray as your high-def source of choice, but if you simply want a compact 1080p device that competently opens up the entire internet to your HDTV, here is a good place to start:

• Dell Zino HD: The cheapest of the bunch at a base price of $230, the Dell Zino HD offers a range of AMD Athlon processor options, up to a 1TB HDD, up to 8GB of RAM and a choice between integrated graphics and an ATI Radeon HD 4330 512MB card. Plus you get HDMI, four USB ports, and two eSATA for easy expansion. Even with a few bells and whistles like a dual-core processor, a bump in RAM to 4GB or a boost in the HDD capacity, you can keep the Zino under $400. Adding a Blu-ray drive bumps the price up an additional $100. [Dell]

• Acer AspireRevo R6310: Features include a dual-core 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor, Nvidia Ion graphics, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, HDMI, eSATA, VGA, 6 USB ports, card reader and wireless-N in a $330 package. They even throw in a wireless keyboard and mouse for good measure. I have spent some time with the AspireRevo, and I can say that it is a very capable HTPC for the money. Power web surfing can be sluggish at times, as is Flash playback—but Adobe has promised support for NVIDIA graphics acceleration in Flash 10.1 that should remedy that situation. All-in-all though, it handles video quite well. It does not include optical drive option, meaning you will have to purchase a Blu-ray player seperately. [Acer]

• Asus EeeBox EB1012: A release date and price have not officially been confirmed, but the EeeBox EB1012 offers basically the exact same feature set as the AspireRevo—minus a USB port or two. Hopefully, when it is released, the price point will be even more aggressive than Acer's. It does not include optical drive option, meaning you will have to purchase a Blu-ray player separately. [Asus]

As a side note, if you are interested in using a CableCard tuner to turn your PC into a cable DVR, that has become a lot easier for the average Joe. However, programs like Comcast's upcoming Xfinity (formerly known as TV Everywhere) might easily bridge this gap by putting your current cable subscription online. Check out my article on living without cable or satellite to learn more about what programming and software is available to you online.

Remotes

None of the HTPCs mentioned above come with a remote control out of the box, but this can be easily and cheaply remedied. Most infrared remotes require only that you have a free USB port for the included adapter, so just about any PC with Windows Media Center can be converted to work with a remote.

If you are just looking for something basic, a remote like the MCE PC will do the job just fine—and it costs under $20. If you have an iPhone, you can also download apps like AirMouse (iTunes link) and MediaMote (iTunes link) to handle these tasks. Gmote is also available for those of you with Android phones.

Networking

Keep in mind that if your modem is far from your computer, and you'll be relying on Wi-Fi to connect to the internet and move files between computers, you are probably going to want something capable of handling wireless-N (802.11n). Fortunately, all of the PCs mentioned above can do that right out of the box—although the Dell Zino requires a $45 upgrade for that option.

If you want to upgrade an older PC to handle wireless-N, all you need is a compatible router and a USB adapter. Decent wireless-N routers will run you about $60 on the lower end, and compatible USB adapters can be had for an additional $30 or $40 bucks. If you just plan on connecting to the internet and you live in a smaller home or apartment, you should be fine with 802.11g.

Networked Storage

Although not an essential component to owning an HTPC, at some point you are probably going to want a networked storage solution so you can dump all of your files in one place. Traditionally, setting up a home server to centrally store files from multiple computers (and multiple platforms, potentially) required another major investment, but things have definitely improved in this area. For example, HP's LX195 Windows Home Server with a 640GB drive can be had for $250, and it performs quite well for the price. The same can be said for the Iomega Ix2-200 NAS. It runs on Iomega's proprietary software as opposed to Windows Home Server, but for the money, it has a killer feature set that makes it a pretty awesome deal. Capacity runs up to 4TB, but the base delivers 1TB at $270 and it is user-expandable.

Even if you want to bake your own NAS server there is open-source software like FreeNAS that can help to keep the costs down. Maximum PC has provided a great guide to building a NAS server using these free open source tools. If you have the hardware lying around, it's not going to cost a penny. Either way, building from scratch can be fairly inexpensive depending on how much storage space you need.

Avoid Expensive Set-Top Boxes

Amusingly enough, as I was writing this article, my father called to ask me about the Roku player his IT guy was raving about. Yes, Roku's three models are priced between $80 and $130, a figure even the cheapest HTPCs can't match, but the fact that they are still limited to Netflix and Amazon On Demand makes them less valuable. Would you say that Netflix and Amazon VOD are worth $130 of the AspireRevo's $330 price tag? I should hope not.

There are certainly good reasons to pick up a $100 HD media streamer, like the Asus O!Play, if you're aware of the limitations, but what's the excuse for Apple TV and others like it? Apple's set-top box costs $229. I have iTunes on my HTPC...so where is the value? Throw an HDMI port on a Mac Mini and then we'll talk. The $300 Popcorn Hour player may play a ton of file formats and have an integrated BitTorrent client, but you have to pay extra to add a hard drive, and by the time you do, you're squarely in HTPC territory.

To me, spending a little more actually saves money, because I don't need to buy so many competing boxes. It's like going to the grocery store and choosing between the regular-sized bag of coffee and the jumbo bag of coffee. The smaller bag costs lest money, but buying in bulk is cheaper pound for pound—and you know I will be drinking all of that coffee.

HTPCs Are Resilient

Forget about netbooks and elaborate set-top media boxes this holiday season. If your budget is anywhere over $300, go with an HTPC. Set-top boxes will always hold you to whatever content deals their makers can set in place (or whatever you can go through the trouble of hacking or modding in, yourself). And I'm not interested in netbooks until they handle HD well enough to be used as a portable HTPC.

It's only a matter of time before everyone watches TV through the internet, so you had better get on the bandwagon while cable companies are still scrambling to figure out how best to screw you. No matter how weird it gets, at least with a PC you know you'll be able to roll with it.

These Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz Windows Home Servers can back up to ten PCs and serve all the files you want. It has two 3.5-inch bays for up to 2 terabytes of storage space, with one Gigabit Ethernet port, and six USB 2.0 ports to add more storage or whatever you want. [Asus via Hot Hardware via Engadget]

While the Mini NAS truly is small, it's got plenty of features in that one pound package. It supports both SMB (Server Message Block) and open source Samba network protocols, provides FTP access for up to 8 simultaneous users, and can be "configured Bit-Torrent downloading appliance or as an iTunes media server." Not bad for $70. [Addonics]

The main bottleneck in any NAS is the RAID engine. Since many NAS units don't include a dedicated controller, oftentimes the speed of the drive just doesn't matter. If you're using a blazing-fast hardware RAID card in your own custom built setup, then drive speed might make a difference. But for most consumer units, the controller is the bottleneck.

With that in mind, you can go with slower 5400 RPM drives that reduce power consumption, generate less heat, and will likely cost less up front too. Even if you have a dedicated RAID card that could let a 7200 RPM drive do it's thing at full speed, I'd consider the benefits of low-power drives to outweigh the marginal speed increase you might see.

This chart shows the difference between Samsung 7200 and 5400 RPM drives in various RAID configurations:

Not much, right? So think twice before you drop more than necessary on 7200 RPM drives for your backup unit. Check out the link for the full test rundown. [Tom's Hardware]

The Price:

1TB for $270, 2TB for $370 and 4TB for $700

The Verdict:

It does a lot, and it does it pretty well, for not a lot of cash.

Here's a list of the exciting bits on the Ix2-200's feature list:

• Automated backup and restore: Full Time Machine support for Macs as well as Retrospect, a different backup scheme, for PCs and Macs.
• Automated copy jobs, which can automatically and incrementally copy (either with Windows file sharing or rsync) files off of network shares and dump it onto its own storage, or the other way around. Perfect for backing up other network shares for double data security
• RAID1
• DLNA, iTunes Servers
• Quiet running
• SMB features like email notifications, event logs, iSCSI, automated video surveillance (provided you have a compatible camera) and USB printer support
• A load of networking support, like Apple File Sharing, Bluetooth, FTP, NFS, Rsync, SNMP and standard Windows File Sharing (CIFS)
• Torrent downloading
• Remote access

Instead of building a Windows Home Server, like so many others have done, Iomega decided to build their own system from their own technology, and came out pretty feature-rich because of it.

The setup process is slightly finicky—you install the Iomega Solutions CD and wait while it searches your network for the server. This can actually take a few hours (we thought the Mac version was malfunctioning until it completed its setup and discovery process), but once you're up, you're up.

You control the server with a web interface, which works with a local app to provide integration into your file system. It's pretty simple to use, and there aren't too many tabs or options to confuse users with.

Backup and file storage

Time Machine works as well as if you were just shoving in a USB hard drive, and there's little difference compared to running your backups over the network as if it were a Time Capsule. Iomega tells us that they've learned from HP's first Windows Home Servers, the ones who weren't able to run a complete Time Machine restore in the event of a total drive failure, so Mac users shouldn't need to worry.

Retrospect, another backup software, can also configure backup plans on a schedule and automatically execute them without any input from you. Just choose which drives and folders you want to back up—it even backs up your network folders—and pick your schedule. If you don't have a Windows Home Server on your network to handle your Windows backups, this is a pretty good substitute. And of course you can use Retrospect to restore your backups to your machine, in case of data failure.

Automated copy jobs is another feature that's especially sweet for me, since I have a lot of network storage and I always worry about what would happen if one fails. This way, the Ix2-200 can maintain up-to-date copies of whatever's sitting on other network drives, and act as the schoolmarm for all your data.

Networking and other features

Some of the other features are pretty much evaluated on a yes/no basis in terms of whether or not they work. The fan is very quiet even when transferring a mass load of files—although the hard drive is not, so that's kind of moot—but is virtually silent otherwise. RAID1 works, and comes set up by default. The DLNA and iTunes streaming works in their respective clients, and Xbox 360/PS3 has no problem streaming files off of the server.

BitTorrent download works, but the server gets confused if you give it a URL to download a .torrent file from, so to play it safe you should just go ahead and download the .torrent yourself and feed that instead. Download speeds are decent, and you can configure what the maximum upload/download speeds are so as to not saturate your internet connection. You should also change your default port as well, since ISPS throttle that 6881 port hard.

All the networking stuff works as expected, as do the email notifications and event logs. The rest of the higher end stuff, like video surveillance integration and iSCSI we didn't test, so we can't say if there are any issues with them or not. It's more than likely that they do work, but we don't know if there are any quirks you should watch out for.

It's a pretty good deal

Iomega's aiming this at both the prosumer and the SMB market, which means that for most people, it's going to have a lot of features that they don't need. But that doesn't matter! The Ix2-200 is so packed with stuff that it should satisfy the needs of just about any user who's hurting for a network storage solution. And at a starting price of only $270 for the 1TB version, it's a cheaper alternative than Windows Home Servers, and can do just about all the same things. Plus with its user-replaceable drives and three USB ports, you can easily upgrade the storage yourself and expand your storage after the fact. [Iomega]

Great backup options including Time Machine and Retrospect

Small, quiet and fast

Feature loaded

Fairly cheap for what you get

Setup process isn't as easy as it could be

It looks kinda chubby and short, but the StorCenter ix2-200's full of features to appeal to the movie-downloading, home-server-building, tofu-eating, lazy ass in you. The entire device seems to revolve around making its feature set as easy to use as humanly possible while keeping up with the "green" gadget trend.

We've shown you what you can use a NAS for, but it all seems like it'll be easier with the ix2-200: You don't even need to have a PC attached to download torrents, you can grab files from your Bluetooth-capable phone, and the Apple lovers can use it for Time Machine backups.

The ix2-200 starts at $270 for the 1TB version, $370 for the 2TB, and $700 for the 4TB version.

Iomega Announces Next Generation "Green" Desktop Network Storage Appliance With Powerful Enterprise and Consumer Features

***

Compact StorCenter ix2-200 Features:

* Easy Push Button Appliance-to-Appliance Copy and Backup
* Disk Spin Down for Energy Efficiency
* User Replaceable Disk Drives and More

SAN DIEGO, October 8, 2009 – Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the next generation of its popular double-drive desktop NAS appliance with the worldwide launch of the new Iomega® StorCenter™ ix2-200. Based on industry-leading enterprise-class EMC® storage technologies, the versatile yet affordable StorCenter ix2-200 wraps ease-of-use around big business data management functionality and advanced media serving and other consumer features that make it the ideal NAS appliance for small business users and home users.

Available in 1TB*, 2TB and 4TB capacities, the new ix2-200 utilizes a very simple four-step setup to be operational in a matter of minutes – be it in a business setting or in the digital home.

Starting at less than $270.00, the ix2-200 employs an easy-to-understand interface to provide robust data management and protection for the serious business user, as well as the latest in multimedia serving and remote access features that makes it a breeze to access your own data, whether in the office, the home, or anywhere else in the world.**

Among the standout business features of the new StorCenter ix2-200:

* Device-to-device replication for business continuity and file recovery
* iSCSI block-level access for efficient storage utilization
* RAID 1 configurations for optimized data protection
* Windows® Active Directory support
* A new front panel QuikTransfer button for easy copying of selected files
* User replaceable hard drives
* Multiple IP security camera support
* And for the forward-thinking small business, VMware® certification for virtualization installations.

The new StorCenter ix2-200 also has a treasure trove of features for the digital home, including:

* A DLNA® certified UPnP® AV Media Server that makes the ix2-200 the central repository for serving up all your movies, pictures, music and other files to any compatible device on your network
* Serves as a Time Machine® target for Apple® computer backups
* Built-in torrent support for file-sharing without the need for a dedicated PC
* Bluetooth® capability for uploading all kinds of digital content from a smart phone
* Cooliris™ slide show plug-in allows for easy photo viewing
* And remote access to the ix2-200 from anywhere in the world

"The new StorCenter ix2-200 is definitely the easiest to use small office and consumer network storage appliance in the marketplace today," said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC. "Combining EMC's world class enterprise storage and security technologies with advanced media serving features makes the ix2-200 a versatile and affordable NAS appliance that gives smaller organizations, work groups and home users not only cost-effective and robust network storage but some of the same sophisticated data management capabilities as a Fortune 100 corporation – but without any need for IT experience."

The new Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 NAS appliance is now available in the Americas and Europe from retailers, VARs and IT resellers, including valued Iomega partner CDW.

"When it comes to managing and protecting digital content, small businesses today face many of the same challenges as much larger organizations," said Matt Troka, vice president, Product & Partner Management, CDW Corporation. "Iomega's new StorCenter ix2-200 delivers cost-effective network storage with advanced enterprise features at extremely affordable prices. For the budget conscious small business with a need for dependable network storage that is easy to setup and maintain without any internal IT expertise, the compact StorCenter ix2-200 offers a great value proposition, which makes it a viable data storage and back-up solution for our customers."

The Little Compact Desktop NAS Appliance with Lots of Capabilities

The new StorCenter ix2-200 NAS desktop appliance utilizes the acclaimed EMC LifeLine™ software, a fully-developed Linux operating environment and suite of applications that is designed for cross-platform support with Windows®, Mac® and Linux computers.

The LifeLine operating system presents a simple-to-use graphical interface that makes it easy to perform valuable business tasks while remaining confident that your data is securely stored, protected, and accessible whenever and wherever you need it.

Small office users will enjoy the ix2-200's fast Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and high-performance embedded architecture, which boosts productivity by making data readily accessible and secure over a local network at the office or in the home. The ix2-200 also boasts the versatility of three USB 2.0 ports for adding printers or additional storage capacity with external USB drives.

Key Features of the StorCenter ix2-200 NAS Appliance

The new ix2-200 NAS appliance's many features make it one of the most advanced, innovative and easy-to-use double-drive network storage devices available today. Among the features:

* Device-to-Device Replication (copy jobs): Copy or backup files to and from the ix2-200 to any other NAS or USB-attached storage device without the need for a client computer. Jobs can be set to run at pre-determined schedule or at the touch of the ix2-200's new QuikTransfer button. The ix2-200 uses either the rsync or Windows File Sharing protocol to transfer data between itself and another network storage device.
* iSCSI Support: Provides block-level access for the most efficient storage utilization, especially for database, email and backup application performance. This feature also allows host-based operating systems and virtualization software to use the full capabilities of their native file systems, such as enabling VMFS for VMware utilization.
* VMware® Ready Certification: The ix2-200 is certified as both NAS (NFS) and iSCSI storage for VMware ESX Server 3.5 and 4.0 vSphere. The ix2-200 is listed on the VMware hardware compatibility list, enabling small offices and work groups to affordably take advantage of the benefits and advanced features offered by shared storage in a VMware environment. The ix2-200 is the ideal storage match for smaller virtualization deployments that use the new VMware vSphere Essentials and vSphere Essentials Plus software packages.
* Remote Access: Set up remote access and remotely manage and access pictures, videos, work files and other digital data on the ix2-200 from anywhere in the world. Just enter a personalized web address into any browser for easy downloading and uploading of files securely.
* RAID Support: RAID 1 with automatic RAID rebuild for data redundancy and protection. Single volume (JBOD) mode also available.
* Multiple Network Protocols: Works in Windows, Linux and Mac environments with network protocol support including CIFS/SMB/Rally, NFS, and AFP/Bonjour. The ix2-200 also supports advanced protocols such as HTTP, FTP and SNMP.
* Time Machine® Support: Lets Apple® users easily backup to the ix2-200 with Mac computers running OS X (10.5 or later) using Time Machine.
* Windows® Active Directory Support: Allows the ix2-200 to function as a client member in an Active Directory domain, giving users and groups access to the ix2-200.
* Uninterruptible Power Supply Support: Enables unattended system shutdown without data loss in the case of power failure.
* Gigabit Ethernet: high speed connectivity with jumbo frame support
* Video Surveillance: Connect up to five Axis® Network video cameras for real-time monitoring and video capture, without the need of a dedicated computer (dependent upon system workload and network conditions). The ix2-200 can be used as a storage target for other network surveillance cameras as well.
* Print Server: Supports intelligent print sharing capability for up to three USB printers directly connected to the ix2-200.
* UPnP AV/DLNA Certified Media Server: Compatible with UPnP and DLNA certified media players, the ix2-200 streams photos, audio content and videos to not only laptops and computers but a variety of media devices, including game consoles (Xbox® 360, Sony PlayStation® 3), audio bridges, iTunes™ players, networked digital picture frames and other compatible devices.
* Bluetooth capability: Allows users to upload contacts, photos and more from a cell phone, pocket PC or Blackberry® phone (Bluetooth USB adapter required, sold separately).
* Photo Slideshow: Integrated utility based on Cooliris™ technology for quick browsing and sharing of pictures stored on the ix2-200 to both local and remote users.
* Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP): Supports no touch, automatic transfer of photos from digital cameras via one of the four USB 2.0 ports on the ix2-200.
* Versatility: Supports read and write on various formats, including Fat32, NTFS or ext2/ext3 formatted hard disks; also supports HFS+ (ready only).

Backup and Security Software for a Complete Solution

The StorCenter ix2-200 provides data backup and protection for any number of desktops and laptops with integrated EMC Retrospect® Express backup software. During the set-up process, users choose files and folders for scheduled automatic backups. After that, any changes or additions are updated and saved automatically.

For data security, the ix2-200 also includes RSA® BSAFE® encryption security technology for protecting installs and upgrades from viruses or malware. RSA is the security division of EMC that protects digital data at many of the world's largest banks.

A Power Saving "Green" NAS Appliance

The StorCenter ix2-200 utilizes such power saving features as automatic hard drive spin down when the ix2-200 isn't copying or serving up data, power consumption "green" hard disk drives, and an Energy Star® certified power supply. All of these features ensure the most efficient or minimal power consumption.

Compatibility

The StorCenter ix2-200 is compatible with Windows®, Mac OS®, and Linux® PCs. The interface is localized in 11 supported languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, German, and Russian).

Price and Availability and Warranty

The new 1TB StorCenter ix2-200 NAS appliance is now available in the Americas and Europe for $269.99, the 2TB model is now available for $369.99, and the 4TB model, which will be available later this month, is $699.99. (All prices are U.S. suggested retail.) All three capacities of the new StorCenter ix2-200 will be available in Asia in November. The StorCenter ix2-200 is backed by a three-year warranty (with product registration).

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC's products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

About Iomega

Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage and network security solutions for small businesses, home offices, consumers and others. The Company has sold more than 410 million digital storage drives and disks since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega's product portfolio includes one of the industry's broadest selection of direct-attached external hard drives; industry leading network attached storage products for the home and small business; and the ScreenPlay family of multimedia drives that makes it easy to move video, pictures and other digital files from the computer room to the livingroom. To learn about all of Iomega's digital storage products and managed services solutions, please go to the Web at www.iomega.com. Resellers can visit Iomega at www.iomega.com/ipartner.

NOTE: This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (iv) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (v) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.'s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vi) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (viii) component and product quality and availability; (ix) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) war or acts of terrorism; (xii) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xiii) fluctuating currency exchange rates; and (xiv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

# # #

* 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.

** Requires an Internet connection.

[Iomega]

Instead of making users learn the ins and outs of FTP, Netgear has set up a graphic-driven MyStora.com through which the drive can be accessed. So the effect is like a NAS light that the less tech inclined might enjoy. (If your parents or parents' parents can handle email, chances are they can handle this NAS.)

There's also some premium service Netgear offers that involves mobile phones and flickr for $20/year.

Luckily the NAS isn't gimpled, supporting Macs/PCs/Linuxes and DLNA/UPnP/iTunes media sharing. But there is one pretty big catch. It seems the Stora's expansion is limited exclusively to mirroring, meaning that you can't add a second drive to double capacity. And that sorta kills the fun, doesn't it? [Stora]

NETGEAR's Stora 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 worldwide provider 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's Stora puts music, movies, photos, and files at 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 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles, and iPhone and Blackberry mobile 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 product is 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 support and 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 integration such as Flickr and mobile phones, is available for $19.99 after an initial 30-day trial period.

The concept is the same: you plug in the FreeAgent DockStar, from Seagate, and the Network Adapter will bring the drive online for access from across the internet (or just somewhere in your own home network). Seagate's solution also includes three extra USB ports to get three other devices online as well, and will be available for $100, which includes a year of Pogoplug service. Each subsequent year costs $30 per year. [Seagate]

LG's N2R1, available this fall in 1TB ($299) and 2TB ($399) configurations, is an interesting alternative to Apple's infamous Time Capsule. Starting at the same price for the same amount of storage, the N2R1 doesn't claim to be Time Machine compliant, but it does offer Windows, Linux and Mac compatibility, an easy drive swapping option and what looks to be a DLNA-compliant, network-sharable DVD player/RW.
Our only point of contention is that the N2R1 supports only 802.11g, eschewing faster 802.11n—that's valuable bandwidth lost for media streaming and quicker backups. Other than that quibble, the N2R1 looks like a reasonably priced, easily integrated, expandable NAS that could make a fine addition to a wireless home network.

LG ELECTRONICS HELPS PROTECT CONSUMERS' DIGITAL MEMORIES WITH NETWORK ATTACHED STORAGE

Provides Easy-to-use, Secure Storage of Personal Multimedia Entertainment Files

ATLANTA, Sept. 10, 2009 – LG Electronics introduced a new Network Attached Storage option for consumers looking to protect their multimedia entertainment files, this week at Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO 2009 (Booth #2623).

To help safeguard treasured family memories, photos and music, LG's Network Attached Storage (NAS) model N2R1 uses a proven system of multiple hard drives used for sharing and replicating data to prevent possible damage or loss. Called RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Discs), this system automatically backs up and restores files for added security in the event of a hardware failure.

With up to two Tera-bytes (TB) of storage, the N2R1 provides a wealth of storage capabilities, allowing consumers to continue building their digital libraries of music, movies and other multimedia files. For an enhanced level of convenience, the N2R1 includes a DVD Re-Writer and Playback feature for additional back up or file sharing options.

"Consumers continue to create digital memories, from photos to family videos and it's important that these irreplaceable moments are saved in a secure place," said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics USA, Inc. "With LG's Network Attached Storage, consumers now have a virtual ‘Library on Command' that allows them unlimited access to their favorite memories, whether at home or on the road."

Connectivity and Compatibility

For consumers who cannot be tied down by wires, the N2R1 has integrated WiFi connectivity for easy connection to any 802.11g wireless home network. The MyMedia feature allows consumers access to videos, photos and music through a DLNA-certified media player, placing digital entertainment libraries within easy reach of the big-screen. For music aficionados, the N2R1 also has iTunes™ connectivity for a networked music option.

The Network Attached Storage is compatible with a variety of operating systems such as Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems, allowing for installation in any home entertainment environment. It also provides remote support with easy access to files from anywhere an Internet connection is available, allowing consumers to show off their favorite pictures or movies even when they are away from home.

The N2R1 will be available online and at national retailers early this Fall for the manufacturers suggested retail price of $299 for 1TB of storage and $399 for 2TB of storage.

• Zeemote's JS1 Wii nunchuk mobile phone game controller that's been bundled with Sony Ericsson phones for a while now is finally available individually. In theory, it should be able to pair with any Bluetooth enabled phone, but for now RIM, Sony Ericsson and Nokia are the only manufacturers to really support the device. Blackberry developers have had access to the SDK since October of 2008 to add Zeemote functionality to their games. As a result, Gameloft's entire catalog of Blackberry games are compatible with the Zeemote, and many more titles are likely to come now that the controller is widely available. You can grab one today from RIM's online store for $39.99. [Mobilecrunch via Crunchgear]

• Iomega has a new NAS out that's aimed at small and home business owners. The ix4-200d comes with four user-replaceable SATA II hard drives in 2, 4 and 8TB capacities. It also comes with a pretty healthy list of features, like selectable RAID 5, RAID 10 or JBOD drive configurations, Time Machine support, and device-to-device replication so the entire contents of the NAS can be easily transfered to another unit. If you're looking to get something for home use, there are less expensive solutions out there, and certainly more fun options in the form of DIY NAS projects. If you just need something that's ready to go out of the box, though, the ix4-200d looks like a solid contender. Starts at $699 for the 2TB, but the maxed-out 8TB will run you a cool $1,900. [Digital Trends]

A re-refresher, from last time they dropped new hardware:

All Fonera routers are open to all Fonera users, meaning that in exchange for providing Wi-Fi to the occasional Fonera-owning passerby, you get to tap into other Fonera users' connections whenever you're away from home. It's a pretty cool idea, but it's not clear that there are enough Foneras in existence for the concept to work in practice, at least in the US.

The company also has telco partners (albeit mostly overseas), who essentially subcontract hotspots to Fonera users. It's an interesting concept even if it's a little cultlike, and for the price—about $70—the Fonera 2n is a solid deal in strict hardware terms.

The company says the product is now out in "major retailers" in the US, though perhaps tellingly doesn't name any. A full feature list below: [Fonera via Ryan Block's Twitter]

Caters to Web 2.0 with Faster WiFi, Home Network Access, and Manages File Uploads/Downloads - Even With Your PC Off

MADRID, July 14 /PRNewswire/ — FON today introduced the Fonera 2.0n WiFi router in the US market, combining FON's revolutionary WiFi sharing and money making features with seamless integration and management of popular Web 2.0 services such as YouTube, Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, BitTorrent, RapidShare, and other content — even while users' PCs are off. The Fonera 2.0n is on sale now at major retailers. This announcement is significant because anyone can now upload, download and synch ALL of their web apps while away from home, without getting stuck for hours waiting for something to load.

"If there's one annoying aspect of the otherwise great internet, it's the time it takes to upload videos, pictures, or download movies, tv series, games, and software from the internet," said Martin Varsavsky, FON CEO. "The Fonera 2.0n is the first WiFi router that frees up your computer from those tasks. Close your computer, continue uploading and downloading!"

Built around the faster 802.11n standard, Fonera 2.0n has a greater WiFi reach and faster throughput than 802.11g routers, and its more powerful processors and sophisticated software enable it to run parallel applications and simultaneous uploads and downloads. A built-in USB hub and Fonera 2.0 management software allows users to connect external hard drives and other USB devices. This enables users to share data wirelessly, upload videos or photos automatically to YouTube, Flickr, Picasa and Facebook, or download* torrents or files directly from BitTorrent, RapidShare, and Megaupload without a computer running at the same time. Additional features include the ability to backup files to a hard drive, print, or access a remote webcam via WiFi, and convert an HSDPA or 3G dongle to WiFi.

Fonera 2.0n can also help users save money on energy and reduce their CO2 output. A Fonera 2.0n router consumes less than four watts while downloading, instead of a PC that averages 100 watts, so users can reduce their CO2 emissions by 273Kg a year — equivalent to driving an SUV more than 1,500km per year. **

"The deep integration of online file sharing, social networks, and other Web 2.0 content into our already busy daily lives translates into more hours spent at the computer, greater energy use and more greenhouse emissions," said Varsavsky. "By enabling users to handle basic computing tasks from the router instead of the PC, we're taking a small step towards reducing power consumption without limiting functionality."

Fonera 2.0 also maintains all the features of previous FON WiFi routers. Once connected, it creates two WiFi signals, one private and one public, that allow for a secure, wireless Internet connection at home and free access at FON Spots worldwide. Fonera owners can also choose to make money*** by selling FON WiFi access passes or letting guests roam at their FON Spot.

Fonera 2.0n is based on open source and developers are encouraged to create and share additional applications.

For further information about the Fonera 2.0, visit www.fon.com.

About FON:

FON started the free WiFi revolution in 2006 with the first Fonera WiFi router and the goal of free, ubiquitous WiFi for everyone. Today, FON has more than 350,000 FON Spots, over 1.3 million registered foneros, and a growing list of Telco partners who add FON functionality to their ADSL modems. Google, eBay, British Telecom, Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital are investors in FON.

Brent Freidman lays out exactly how to get Time Machine backups to work with any Windows Home Server machine in a point-by-point method that's pretty easy, despite some Terminal tinkering to make it work—follow that here.

If you wanna use just a generic NAS, you can do that too. Personally, I followed this guide by Adam Cohen-Rose—though there are others—to get it going on a 4TB WD ShareSpace several months ago, though WD now has a much cheaper consumer version. It's a hack that also takes a little bit of work, but ditching the USB cable is totally worth it.

If you're in the market for a NAS (if you don't have one, you are, even if you don't know it yet) check out our guide to finding the perfect networked storage.

Definitely a good weekend project, so let us know how it goes or if you have any tips in our fancy new comments if make the the attempt. [CompuGeek via MS Windows Home Server]

The Price: $434 on Amazon

The Verdict: Strong. I hate going running down the feature list in reviews, but the NS4600 has quite a big spec sheet.

• Hot-swappable 3GB/s SATA, 1.5TB per drive, up to 4 drives
• RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 support
• Gigabit Ethernet
• USB HDD and printer support
• One-touch backup
• Built-in BitTorrent and eDonkey downloads
• SMB/CIFS/AFP/NFS Network Protocols Support; Shared Storage for Windows, Unix, Linux, MAC clients
• Time Machine support
• DLNA Streaming (PS3, Xbox, DLNA TVs)
• Cellphone video/music streaming (iPhone, Nokias, PSP, Windows Mobile)
• Internet management/access

And all these features work! Streaming to the iPhone was slick (just enter in the username and password) and fast, and streaming to the Xbox 360/PS3 worked as well as any other DLNA network device. This means that if you set up the correct port forwarding options on your router to punch through your NAT, you can have access to your library of music and videos on your cellphone no matter where you are.

What's also very useful is the RAID support, which you can check our Giz Explains to see why you'd want one. In short, you're going to have all your media and documents on here, and it pays to have some sort of redundancy when (not "in case") a drive fails.

There are editions of their SmartNAVI management client apps for Windows and Mac, which lets you manage shares, stream media, set up new users, set up BitTorrent and eDonkey downloads (very useful if you don't want to keep a separate PC on all the time) as well as set up a Time Machine backup. And yeah, the Time Machine backup works. The backup folder mounts as a drive on your machine, and you back up normally, via Time Machine.

The only downside of this beefy NAS is that it doesn't ship with drives. That means you're paying $434 for just a box, which you still have to populate with your own drives. If you want to max out the storage with four 1.5TB drives at $120 each, that's an extra $480. A 1TB RAID solution at $80 each would only cost you $320. But the fact remains that this is a BYOD solution.

Is this worth it? It depends. We're big fans of pre-built Windows Home Server machines here, and that already has a lot of backup and streaming and remote access apps built in. But it doesn't have RAID, and it doesn't have Time Machine support (except for HP's), and it doesn't have everything this unit has. So yes, even though the Promise SmartStor NS4600 is a little pricey because it runs almost five bills and you have to bring your own drives, it is quite a sturdy and capable NAS. [Promise]

Tons of features

Time Machine support

The SmartNAVI user interface is kind of clunky, but it does what it's supposed to

Expensive for something that doesn't ship with drives

The Price: $700 (4TB), $400 (2TB)

The Verdict: It's a NAS for normal people. With a simple curved white design highlighted by a single hypnotic bar of white LED, the diminutive My Book plugs in to your router via ethernet to give you up to 4TB of networked storage. You plug it in, it shows up on your network, and that's that. (There's a more advanced CD installation that allows you to auto-backup your PC hard drive should you want the software.)
We tested the large, 4TB RAID 1 (mirrored drive) version of the My Book. In other words, you have about 2TB of recordable space that's backed up to another drive so that if one drive fails, you don't lose any data. If you wanted more speed/space, the drive can be reconfigured to RAID 0 (Striped) mode allowing you to access all 4TB. And it's easy to forget, if you choose to mainline the My Book right into your computer's ethernet jack, transfer speeds are fast. Gigabit ethernet reaches 1000Mbps, which is easily faster than USB but also quicker on paper than even Firewire 800. Still, transferring a 700MB file took 1:32. Transferring 8.2GB in files took 18:49. Not so fast in practice. (In other words, you won't actually be copying files at 1000Mbps, but the installed system has no trouble streaming HD media over Wi-Fi.)

You feel a bit of warmth dissipating out of the My Book's large top to rear vent panel (that we wish were metal instal of plastic), but system runs cool enough, offers easy access to the drives (you just pop the lid) and operates with very little noise. Quite simply, it works pretty well and makes a cute little media server (if you've got the scratch).

It's As Simple as RAIDs Get

Small, Quiet Formfactor

Mega Storage

Venting Could Feel More Durable, But It's Flexible and Thereby Easy to Pop Off

The My Books can connect either as an NAS through ethernet or simply as an external drive through USB, and both the 2TB and 4TB versions contain two drives to watch each other's backs in case one fails. So really, you're getting either 1TB or 2TB of space, respectively, since one drive is used as backup. They're available now and retail for either $400 (2TB) or $700 (4TB). Press release to follow. [Western Digital]

WD'S NEW DUAL-DRIVE MY BOOK® WORLD EDITION™ II NETWORK STORAGE SYSTEM ADDS EXTRA LEVEL OF PROTECTION
FOR A FAMILY'S VALUABLE DATA

Offers an Easy, Double-Safe Way to Backup Computers and Share Media
Throughout the Home

LAKE FOREST, Calif. - June 24, 2009 - WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its newly redesigned My Book® World Edition™ II dual- drive network storage system in capacities of up to 4 TB. With the double protection of two Mirrored (RAID 1) drives and continuous backup software, the My Book World Edition II network storage system provides an extra-safe place for users to back up and store the data and digital media from all the computers on their network in one central location. Available now at select retailers and the WD online store, the new dual-drive systems join the recently introduced (Feb. 2009) My Book World Edition and are compatible with PC and Mac® computers.

According to a July 2008 report by research firm Parks Associates, the number of households worldwide with data networks will grow from around 170 million in 2008 to 240 million by year-end 2012. The firm also reports that the average broadband household will see its digital media storage needs grow to nearly 900 GB by year-end 2012. In addition, consumers indicate that the most important feature for a network-attached storage (NAS) device is the amount of available storage. With its massive 4 TB capacity, the My Book World Edition II network storage system will serve this rapidly growing need for home data storage.

The My Book World Edition II network storage system uses RAID 1 (Mirrored1) technology to automatically and continuously maintain a second copy of user's data. If one drive in the two-drive system ever fails, the system continues to run and the data is safe. In addition, the new
My Book World Edition II network hard drive includes software that simplifies the task of setting up automatic and continuous data backup for all the PCs in the home. The My Book World Edition II storage systems ship in Mirrored mode and use half the capacity for file redundancy.

With its media server capabilities and fast transfer speeds, this high-capacity system makes it simple to build a centralized digital media library that everyone can easily share. Music, photos and videos can be streamed directly from the My Book World Edition II storage system to any PC, Mac or connected DLNA® media player (such as TVs, Microsoft® Xbox 360 and Sony® PlayStation®3 game consoles or wireless digital pictures frames) using the integrated UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) media server and iTunes® Music server software. Users can also securely access their files from anywhere in the world through the Internet using the free MioNet® remote access service included with every My Book World Edition II storage system.

"Families have more and more digital media like movies, photos and music to store, share and protect. Having two drives inside the My Book World Edition II network storage system, instantaneously and automatically duplicating data, offers consumers the peace of mind of double safe, real-time protection of their valuable content," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. "Families can relax knowing their valuable media is backed up while enjoying the ability to stream their content to a plethora of different devices from PCs and Macs to PS3s, Xbox 360s and the latest connected TVs."

Price and Availability

The new My Book World Edition II network storage systems are available now in 2 TB and 4 TB capacities at select retailers and WD's online store (www.shopwd.com). MSRP for the My Book World Edition II dual-drive storage system with 4 TB is $699.99 USD and 2 TB is $399.99 USD.

Their availability and pricing:

• Available in late July, Seagate BlackArmor NAS 220—$449.99 for 2TB and $699.99 for 4TB

• Available now, Seagate BlackArmor WS 110—$159.99 for 1TB and $309.99 for 2TB

• Available now, Seagate BlackArmor PS 110—$159.99 for 500GB

The BlackArmor NAS seems interesting to me, just because I'm a big fan of network storage that your entire house can access. Is that $450 and $700 price going to be affordable when you can get simiarly-sized NASes (and Windows Home Servers) for cheaper? It depends on what kind of security/backup/restore software Seagate bundles in.

How is it so tiny? The SS-839 uses 2.5-inch SATA drives instead of the clunky 3.5s you find in desktops (and most NAS systems).

But beyond its compact 4TB capacity, the SS-839 features plenty of performance enhancers, like a low-voltage Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and 2 eSATA ports along with 5 USBs. Fully loaded with 8 hot-swappable hard drives, the system sips on just 34W—a handy side effect of its netbook/notebook components.

There's no word on pricing yet, but QNAP has more networking specifics over at their site. [QNAP and BW]