Seagate GoFlex Home NAS Promises Easy Media-Sharing

Seagate has outed its latest addition to the GoFlex family of removable storage, the Seagate GoFlex Home, a media and backup NAS designed for domestic use.  Coming in a choice of 1TB or 2TB capacities, the GoFlex Home's storage can be easily upgraded since it uses the same SATA port connector as other drives in the range; you simply pull out the preinstalled drive and slot in a newer, bigger example.

Alternatively there's a USB 2.0 port which can be used to add external drives, or to share a USB printer across the home network.  Digital media files can be streamed around the network – there's an ethernet port built in, but you'll need to hook up a wireless router if you want WiFi support – and the GoFlex Home is compatible with both PC and Mac for backup purposes.

As for remote access, like we've seen on the Pogoplug you can share photo albums, videos and documents with friends and family via an invite-only webpage; Seagate also offer an optional premium version of the service, Seagate Share Pro, which allows for remote cellphone access, Facebook and Flickr integration, and RSS updates to new content.  The Seagate GoFlex Home is available today, priced at $159.99 for the 1TB model and $229.99 for the 2TB model.

Press Release:

SEAGATE DEBUTS GOFLEX HOME: EASY-TO-USE CENTRALIZED STORAGE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

Wireless Backup, Sharing and Streaming of Music, Photos, Movies and More

from Multiple Computers in the Home

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – July 19, 2010 – Seagate today unveiled the newest

addition to its

GoFlexT family of hard drives-the GoFlex

T Home network storage system. When this easy-to-use device is

connected to a wireless router, an entire household can centrally store,

easily access and continuously back up files wirelessly from both WindowsR

and Mac OSR X operating systems on the home[1] network. The new centralized

storage system simplifies the backup process by being compatible with AppleR

Time MachineR, as well as including a version of the backup application for

both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. With the GoFlex

Home storage system, families can also wirelessly stream photos,

movies and music to most network connected DLNA devices, such as game

consoles or a

GoFlexT TV HD media player, from any room in the house. With just two

cable connections and a simple, illustrated, step-by-step installation tool

that gets the device up and running in minutes, the GoFlex

Home system solves the household storage puzzle in a snap.

Available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, the GoFlex

Home storage system provides plenty of room to help safeguard precious

digital memories for the whole family and is ideal for use with home

laptops, netbooks, or other devices

with limited storage. Unlike other single-drive network solutions, its

modular design also enables the included drive to be upgraded when needed by

simply removing the drive from the base (no tools required) and replacing it

with a higher capacity GoFlex

T Desk hard drive. Families can also add more storage to

the GoFlex

Home system by simply connecting additional drives to the USB port.

Additionally, this same USB port can be used to wirelessly share a USB

printer with every computer on the network.

"With broadband and home networks reaching higher levels of penetration and

operating at higher speeds, consumers are increasingly downloading and

streaming content into their home and wanting to access that content from

anywhere," said Darcy Clarkson, Seagate vice president of Retail Sales and

Marketing. "The GoFlex

T Home system makes it easy for families wanting to quickly and

effortlessly backup, enjoy, and share their favorite home movies music or

photos from any room in the house. We spent a lot of time focusing on

simplicity with this product and believe people will find it very intuitive

to set-up and get started. With the GoFlex

T Home system, now home networking is within reach for today's digital

households."

A recent report by In-Stat predicts the consumer network storage market will

continue to grow between 25 and 50 percent over the next five years. In

addition, the number of devices connected to the home network, and the

number of devices that are mobile or portable, are creating desire for

consumers to move in and out of their home networking environment2 with

their content. Using the included remote access and file sharing service on

GoFlex

Home system called Seagate ShareT service, families can easily access

movies, music or photo files stored on their GoFlex

Home system from any internet connected computer in the world. The

Seagate Share service also allows families to share photo albums, home

movies and documents with friends by simply selecting the files or folders

they want to share and typing in an email address. Those friends will

receive a notification with a direct link to a customized webpage where they

can view the shared files.

"Consumers are showing increased interest in downloading and streaming

content from the Internet into the home, connecting devices in the home to

social networks, and demanding easy access to content both within the

household and beyond the reach of home networks," said Norm Bogen, vice

president, Research, Digital Entertainment with In-Stat. "Solutions designed

to help access content from multiple devices in the home, distribute it over

the home network and stream to other devices and products, will be appealing

to active digital media consumers."

The GoFlex

Home system also offers a premium service option-the Seagate Share Pro

remote access service-that allows families to access content stored on the

drive from mobile devices such as an iPhoneR, iPadT or BlackBerryR,

integrate photos or files with FacebookR and FlickrR, and keep friends and

relatives updated with the latest shared files using Integrated RSS (Really

Simple Syndication) notifications.

In addition to delivering quick and easy wireless, file access, streaming

and multi-computer backup of digital files, the GoFlex

Home network storage system has been designed with the cost and

environmentally conscious households in mind. The GoFlex

Home system also includes a power saving (idle) mode that

automatically runs after 30-minutes of inactivity and a power switch that

allows it to be shut off while families are away for extended periods.