New organization options, global search

Cloud Engines on Friday introduced the second-generation Pogoplug, along with a variety of new features for storing and sharing multimedia. The hardware features the same plug-and-play capability of the original, but adds several USB ports to allow connection of up to four external hard drives without using a dedicated USB hub.

Users can now synchronize their Pogoplug with a PC or Mac, enabling content such as music and photos to be automatically imported to the external drives. The interface supports drag-and-drop arrangement for slideshows, which are then shared via URL links. Clicking on the link immediately begins the slideshow within a browser. The Pogoplug utility also stores any e-mail addresses previously used to share content, enabling users to quickly send new shares.

Alongside the support for multiple drives, the service now provides a "global" search function that hunts for content across all of the user's drives or even separate Pogoplugs. When browsing audio files, the interface presents the album, artist and genre, along with cover art. Photos are now organized in a timeline, while videos can be watched in the preview thumbnail. Video playback also works directly from the Pogoplug website, even on mobile handsets such as the iPhone.

Cloud Engines is currently accepting pre-orders for the second-generation Pogoplug, which costs $129 and is expected to ship in time for the holiday season.

By Electronista Staff