Today, Cloud Engines announced an updated version of their popular NAS networking device, the Pogoplug.  This version adds 4 USB ports to the mix, which means you can now share the content of even more hard drives or USB sticks over the Internet.

I’m about to write a review on the Seagate NAS that uses the Pogoplug software, and while it’s not bad it’s not stellar.  But f rom the sounds of it, Pogoplug might have updated some of the so ftware, such as the ability to automatically sync your photos and other media wit h the NAS device.

The 2nd Pogoplug will ship sometime soon for $129.

Second G eneration Pogoplug™ Unveiled Today
Next-generation Hardware Design and Software Provide Enhanced Storage, Multimedia and Social Media Capabilities

San Francisco, Calif. – November 20, 2009 – Cloud En gines, Inc. unveiled the second generat ion of the award winning Pogop lug multimedia sharing device today giving consumers more flexibility to store personal content safely in the home and access, manage, and share it from anywhere on the Internet. The new Pogoplug hardware sports a new design boasting multiple USB ports supporting up to 4 external drives for expanded data capacity. The new Pogoplug also gives users improved sharing cap abilities, an easy drag-and-drop interface to create engaging multi-media slide shows, seamless media playback, and enhanced sharing with friends on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Pogoplug acts like a gateway from your home or office through the Internet. It allows you to access, share and even stream your personal digital m edia directly to anybody, anywhe re in the world. Your content always remains physically in your home or office, making it secure, convenient and available on your terms. Pogoplug is perfect for those individuals with increasingly mobile lifestyles and small businesses in need of simple, inexpensive mobile data access solutions.

“The reaction to the Pogoplug has been incredible. By listening to user feedback and following our own product roadmap, we are bringing a great second-generation product that gives our customers access to a host of new features that both improve the function of the Pogoplug, and add to the fun of using it as well.” said Daniel Putterman, CEO of Cloud Engines, Inc.  “We are commi tted to giving our customers the best way to access their data from anywhere in the world, p ushing the envelope with both product quality and design aesthetic. The result is what you see here today.”

NEW HARDWARE
The new Pogoplug design retains the simplicity and eas e of use of the original while listening to consumer feedback and adding the ability to directly connect up to 4 external hard drives at once. The resulting product boasts an improved design with greatly improved functionality for users with multiple drives and an increasing need for easy synching and sharing of their digital libraries. This upgrade t urns the Pogoplug into an even more prominent feature in the modern digital home or small business.

NEW FEATURES

Automatically Synchronize Photos, Videos, Music and Other Selected Content
Users can synchr onize their Pogoplug with their PC or Mac to automatically import new content from popular applications such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, and iPhoto. This feature allows Pogoplug owners to “s et it and forget it” and always have access to new photos, videos and music from anywhere on the Internet.

Drag-and-Drop Music and Pho to Slideshows
Users can easily create and share fun and engaging slideshows using their sto red photos, videos and music.  Creating a slideshow w ith Pogoplug is as simple as drag and drop, and sharing these slideshows is just as easy as ev er. Once a user’s link is shared and viewed, their slideshow will immediately begin with the photos, videos and music they selected, playing seamlessly in the viewer’s browser.

Easie r Sharing with Pogoplug Address Book
Pogoplug Address Book greatly improves the speed and ease of use of sharing wit h a user’s friends and family. Pogoplug aut omatically remembers all email addresses entered in a user’s previous shares – even if that share no longer exists – and makes them available in an easy to use address bo ok to make shari ng truly one click away.

Global Search Across Multiple Drives and Pogoplugs
With support for multiple drives on a single Pogoplug (and multiple Pogoplugs on the same account) Pogoplug has added “global” search support across all of a user’s Pogoplugs and drives.  Search filters are now a distinct feature, allowing users to view all of their photos, videos and music in a single organized view, or to search for a specific file acro ss all Pogoplugs and drives.

Organize Your Mus ic, Photos and Videos
Pogoplug automatically displays music by Album, Artist and Genre, and shows cover art for quick access to a user’s favorite music. Photos are now displayed by photo timeline and videos are only a click away, including the ability to watch a preview in the thumbnail itself.

Play movies directly from my.pogoplug.com, or even to the iPhone
Pogoplug now supports the playback of videos di rectly from a Pogoplug, with support for the most popular cameras, video cameras and mobile phones.  Movies can be shared and viewed directly from the Pogoplug website – or even from an iPhone!

Pricing and Availability
We are currently taking Pre-Orders for Pogoplug at Units will ship before the end of the year – just in time for the Holid ay Season. The Pogoplug has a suggested retail price of $12 9, with no additional service fees.

ABOUT THE POGOPLUG
The Pogoplug is a device that connects up to 4 external hard drives to the Internet. It is designed for consumers who have an external hard drive and have high speed Internet. Consumers can securely access and share all of their content [Files, Photos, and Video] from any Web browser or enabled mobile device with no additional monthly fee s.  Fr ee your inner drive.

ABOUT CLOUD ENGINES, INC.
Founded in 2007 by experienced entrepreneurs from the digital media and security industries, Cloud Engines is located in San Francisco, California.  The company was formed with a mission to change the way personal content is stored and distributed over the Internet.  The Cloud Engines philosophy is that by making a produc t simple, open and affordable, the community will participate in making it better.  For more information, please visit our Web site,