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New Pogoplug brings hard drives online with additional USB ports, bright colors

On Friday, Cloud Engines introduced its new Pogoplug, adding more sync capabilities, additional USB ports and a splash of color for $129.
Written by Andrew Nusca, Contributor

The original Pogoplug was a $99 solution that turned any USB external hard drive or memory stick into a makeshift online server.

On Friday, Cloud Engines introduced its new Pogoplug, adding more sync capabilities, additional USB ports and a splash of color for $129.

The new Pogoplug is intended to be less a plug-in brick of a device like its predecessor (see images) and more of a desktop base station.

The previous version had just one USB 2.0 port, but the new incarnation offers four USB 2.0 ports.

But the biggest improvement is the software, which has been updated to more easily allow search across all drives, better category organization and the creation of slideshows with music, launched directly from the Pogoplug's browser interface.

The software also now allows for sync with iTunes, iPhoto and Windows Media Center, as well as a built-in updating address book for file sharing. It also allows video streaming from within the Pogoplug browser or using an iPhone. (The device supports NTFS, FAT32, Mac OS Extended Journaled and Non-Journaled (HFS+), and EXT-2/EXT-3 formats.)

It's basically the solution for a simple, homemade server. The new Pogoplug will be available in December.

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