Pogoplug2 FrontSan Francisco startup Cloud Engines, maker of a box-like device called Pogoplug that makes external hard drives accessible from any computer or iPhone, today launched the next generation of the device, supporting more hardware and software capabilities.

Listening to customer feedback, the new Pogoplug now hosts four external drives for expanded data capacity as well as additional software features. With an emphasis on automatic synchronization of new content and advanced sharing benefits, the device allows users to create slideshows, photo timelines, share address books, search across drives and even play movies directly from your iPhone.

The company declined to provide sales information about the first Pogoplug.

The new device has a suggested retail price of $129, slightly higher than the original $100. A reasonable price increase for three more USB drives and advanced sharing capabilities.

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A competitor could be seen in Addonics NAS (network attached storage) adapter which basically turns your USB hard drive into a network device so you can access it from anywhere on the network. While less expensive at $49, the device only has one USB port and doesn’t allow web access.

If you’re interested in giving the Pogoplug for the holidays, you will have to pre-order.

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