Pogoplug-give you fast access, locally or remotely, to your USB storage devices

Pogoplug was a PCMag Editors’ Choice in its first version. Now CloudEngine’s latest iteration of its multimedia sharing device has been updated with several new features including a lurid purple-pink cable stand. It does what it did before: give you fast access, locally or remotely, to your USB storage devices—up to four of them, instead of just one. There are multimedia enhancements: you can stream almost any video file, do automatic media synching, and perform improved contact management. All of which helps make up for the $30 price increase from the original.

The good: The Pogoplug allows any USB drive to be accessed over a home network or Internet connection. It offers supersimple setup, even for networking novices. Files are accessible via any standard Web browser as well as a free iPhone app, and the software plug-in allows drive mapping on Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs. It also uses much less power than a PC file server.

The bad: The Cloud Engines Pogoplug doesn’t include any built-in storage and its preview (streaming) feature doesn’t work well for video files. It also can’t share files with noncomputer products, such as Xbox 360s or PS3s.

The bottom line: The Pogoplug provides a quick and easy way to share files from any USB storage device to users on a home network or over the Internet.

pogoplug v2

Although it does have more USB ports as well as a 1 GB Ethernet port, this little, Linux-based device isn’t significantly larger than the first-generation. Its presence certainly wouldn’t overwhelm a small, home office. Maybe the sheer number of external devices you can connect to it will. Also nice: the price includes the fee for cloud-based sharing service for the life of the device.

Already own the first generation Pogoplug? No worries, as you can get the new software features as a free upgrade. You’re just stuck with the 1 USB port.

Pogoplug doesn’t do anything much differently than other NAS devices except it doesn’t come with on-board storage.However, it does allow you to easily setup content and device sharing. A reader asked how Pogoplug differs from a service like LogMeIn Hamachi which provides hosted VPN and requires no specialized hardware. Both PogoPlug and LogMeIn can achieve remote access to your computer. However, for non-IT folks and home users, the idea of a VPN can be daunting. PogoPlug is effortless sharing, and is ideal for a home or small business where there is no IT presence.

Pogoplug only supports USB 2.0 and older devices and the following disk drive file systems: NTFS, FAT32, Mac OS Extended Journaled and Non-Journaled (HFS+) and EXT-2/EXT-3. The Web-based management console can be accessed via any modern browser

Pogoplug Specification :
General
* Product Material Plastic
* Width 2.5 in
* Depth 2 in
* Height 2 in
* Length 4 in

Cabling & Wiring
* Connector Provided RJ-45

Manufacturer Warranty
* Service & support type 1 year warranty
* Service & Support Details Limited warranty – 1 year

Networking
* Networking type Device server
* Data link protocol Ethernet