14 DAY TRIAL // NAS (Network-Attached Storage) devices have been used in home and small office networks for quite a while and they have also been gaining certain new capabilities lately, such as better security, easier remote access and better drive management. Netgear decided it was time to even further expand the feature set of such products. As such, when it put together its two newest models, it took care to implement some new media functionality.
The newcomers go by the names of ReadyNAS Ultra 4 and ReadyNAS Ultra 6, and their most unusual feature is the ability to stream content to consoles, TiVo devices and even Android devices, such as smartphones and tablets, thanks to the Orb and DLNA compliant kit. Of course, such features would not be worthwhile if the hardware itself were not at least impressive, and Netgear definitely saw to that.
Basically, the ReadyNAS ultra 4 and 6 have 4 drive bays and 6 drive bays, respectively, which means they can pack up to 8TB and 12TB of storage space. The HDDs of up to 2TB are managed by a single-core Intel Atom 1.66GHz processor on the former and a dual-core on the latter model. Either chip is backed up by 1GB of RAM. Furthermore, the HDDs themselves can be set up in RAID 0, 1, 5 or 6 configurations. Finally, the NAS are equipped with a number of USB ports, including a front port that can automatically copy the content from the drive or memory card reader inserted into it.
Of course, as is the case with all promising products, the ReadyNAS have their disadvantages, or, in this case, one disadvantage. Predictably, the price is what may put end-users off. The ReadyNAS Ultra 4 starts at $899 for twin 2TB drives, while the Ultra 6 carries a price tag of $1,349 when equipped with six 1TB drives. They will both start selling this month and will also be available without drives. A smaller model should debut later on.