Verbatim Plays Pogoplug With 4-Port USB MediaShare Mini NAS Unit

When you think of NAS drives, you probably think of big, rectangular boxes that aren't much to look at. There's probably 2 or 4 bays in there for hard drives, a power port and an Ethernet jack. They're all pretty simple, and they're all pretty much the same. But this NAS drive is different. Majorly different. Verbatim's newest NAS drive isn't a traditional NAS drive at all. It doesn't even have room for internal storage, and it definitely doesn't ship with any.


So what are you to do with a 0GB NAS drive? Add your own Flash memory! The MediaShare Mini was meant to be a consumer-level NAS drive that's mostly used for sharing multi-media around the house. The unit has 4 USB ports, where USB keys can be attached and then that content can be placed on a local network for viewing elsewhere.


The good news is that you can also plug in a USB hard drive, so you aren't limited to thumb drives. In this way, the box acts a little bit like the Pogoplug boxes that have emerged over the years. Once those USB storage devices are inserted, they become visible on the network, and you can even setup remote access for viewing from afar. There's DLNA support for streaming media through the PS3 or Xbox 360, and even remote access via phone. At just $90, it looks to be a nice bargain if you already own your external storage and just want to get that online ASAP.