Stora provides a shared home for media files

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 22 September 2009 10:58

Business IT - Technology

Netgear is addressing the shared storage needs of connected homes with the Stora Internet-enabled NAS unit. Digital media is commonplace in many homes, and people are becoming increasingly aware of the inconvenience of storing it on a particular PC, or of having to keep copies on multiple devices.

Clearly, centralised storage makes a lot of sense in the home context, but vendors have been slow to specifically address mainstream consumers (as opposed to small businesses and the more geeky among us).

Netgear's Stora takes care of sharing music, movies and photos, as well as other types of files. It is said to be compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iPod touch, iPhone, BlackBerry phones, and DLNA-enabled photo frames.

An iTunes server is incorporated, and the Stora ships with backup software for Mac and Windows.

Sharing isn't limited to the home. The MyStora.com service allows web-based access to files from connected devices including smartphones.

"With the amount of music, movies and photos we increasingly download, storage is quickly becoming a necessity and the Stora really is a device that everyone can use," said Ryan Parker, managing director, Netgear Australia and New Zealand.

"It sports an incredibly user-friendly interface, is compatible with any platform, affordable and comes with one terabyte of storage. You can share any of your files remotely with family and friends, such as photo albums of your latest holiday, by simply sending a link which can even be accessed on a mobile smartphone so no need to force anyone to join Facebook," he added.

The $A399 Stora includes a single 1TB hard drive, with a second bay to accommodate a second drive for mirroring. No tools are required to install the extra disk.

Buyers receive a 30-day trial of an optional service providing additional remote access and integration with third-party services such as Flickr and mobile phones, which will cost around $A20 per year.