Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook: Netgear delves into consumer NAS market with $229 1TB Stora

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/21/netgear-delves-into-consumer-nas-market-with-229-1tb-stora/

Clearly autumn is a time for change, and with Seagate diving cautiously into the consumer NAS market just last week, it follows logic to think that rival Netgear would do likewise. The company has had a few years of experience with professional and business-minded NAS units, but the now-available Stora is the first dumbed-down version meant to cater to the masses (and the strapped-for-cash). Essentially, it's targeting users who want to make their media catalog available over the internet, and there's even a MyStora.com location that lets users easily access files remotely when an FTP client just feels far too intimidating.

It's compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows platforms, it can double as an iTunes or DLNA server and it ships in a two-bay configuration that is automatically setup to mirror data. Oddly enough, the $229 MS2110 model includes only a single 1TB drive, though we definitely prefer this setup over having twin 500GB HDDs; after all, any shopper worth their salt can snap up an extra 1TB unit for a lot less than Netgear would sell it to 'em.Oh, and we're told that 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," but frankly, that doesn't sound appealing at all.

Gallery: Netgear delves into consumer NAS market with $229 1TB Stora