The ioSafe Solo is available in three capacities: 500GB for $249, 1TB for $375 and 1.5TB for $475, for a limited time. There’s also a ruggedised NAS for $15K, but I doubt there will be too many of you guys jumping on that deal…

[iosafe]

While you can use the MS 400 HD DVR’s Wi-Fi connection to access media on your home PC or NAS using DLNA, there doesn’t seem to be any provision to copy your HDTV recordings back to your PC so you can watch them on the go.

You do get customised YouTube and Picasa access though, and the detachable HDD slot is a great addition for anyone wanting more storage on the cheap. But is that enough? Outside the DVR functionality with its 8-day EPG and twin HD tuner, I’m more inclined to use my PS3 to access remote files.

Would you pay $849 for a 250GB DVR (or $999 for 500GB) model?

[LG]

Intel’s got a lengthy spiel about how performance has been improved, albeit slightly, by the new fabrication process (they claim a 25% decrease in latency and slightly higher read/write performance), but the core of this upgrade, and the main benefit of switching to 34nm, is a lower price.

Looking again to Intel’s claims, there’s been a 60% decrease in price for the 80GB and 160GB models compared to original launch prices, which is strictly speaking correct. Thing is, neither of the drives have sold for anything near their initial prices for some time now, so although the new versions, priced at around $US225 for the 80GB and $US440 for the 160GB, will be more affordable than their predecessors, they won’t be budget drives by any means.

It’s been a year, so a capacity hike would’ve been nice. Without that, this feels like a transitional product—a necessary manifestation of solid-state storage’s slow crawl toward affordability, if not something many people will be ready to buy. Accordingly, I expect the second generation of 34nm to be awesome, so please, be awesome. [Intel]

Register Hardwaresays that The Hard Rectangular Drive (HRD), developed by DataSlide, is roughly 4x faster than current HDDs, and uses the same process to manufacture CPUs for the data heads. Piezoelectric actuators are used to scan the data heads and access specific parts of the magnetically-encoded platter. At any one time, 64 data heads are able to simultaneously transfer data. It also only uses 4W of power, which makes it half as power thirsty as a SSD.

The current technology consists of a single platter in a 3.5-inch drive, though it will be possible to stack platters in the future. [Register Hardwarevia Fast Company]

4TB for $1000 works out at $250 per terabyte, or about 25 cents a GB. That’s so frickin’ cheap!

The new drives come with a 5-year warranty, are user-serviceable (so you can change drives yourself), have Firewire 400/800, eSATA and USB 2.0 connectivity options, and come with a capacity gauge so you can see how much storage you have left. Although with 4TB, you shouldn’t have to worry about that last bit too soon…

[Western Digital]

In other words, any 2.5 or 3.5-inch hard drive can push HD video (MPEG, AVI, MP4, VOB, and DiVX) through the adaptor. It also handles content from HD cards and USB drives and comes with a remote control for added convenience. All-in-all, not a bad set of features for $US69. [Brando]

There’s no HDMI on the dock either, so while it can upscale to 1080i through component, there isn’t the simple, single cable solution. Also disappointing is the file support – audio, for example, doesn’t include support for AAC or Apple lossless, which is incredible considering the number of people who would have their music encoded in this way.

There are a couple of really cool features that do make it stand out though, like the ability to zoom in and pan on a video during playback, and the fact that it is firmware upgradeable. But for the geeks among us (which is pretty much everyone, let’s be honest), this isn’t going to be the ideal solution, despite its attractive $199 price tag. It might suit your mum or grandma, but then you’re going to have to train them how to copy files onto an external drive to make the most of it.

It’s being targetted at small businesses and bittorrent fiends “digital media enthusiasts”, and does all the regular things you’d expect a NAS to do (like backup your PCs and Macs, for example). A full feature list is below for those of you enchanted by the idea of 8TB, but the real question to ask yourself here is: Do you really need this much space?

The new high-speed network storage systems feature:
•A small-footprint, 4-bay storage system that takes up very little space and provides plenty of storage to go around;
•GigE connectivity with data transfer rates up to one gigabit per second when used in a GigE network;
•RAID 0/1/5 capabilities for data protection and speed;
•E-mail alert system that monitors drive and system health and sends you an e-mail if a problem is detected;
•UPnP/DLNA 1.5 Certified Media Server;
•iTunes server for centralized shared music;
•Microsoft Active Directory® directory service support;
•Plug a USB drive into the front-mounted USB 2.0 port and push a button to transfer automatically all the data on the drive to the WD ShareSpace system;
•Automatic and continuous(2) network backup software including licenses to back up 3 computers;
•WD’s unique MioNet remote Web access service (for PC and Mac) that lets users access the drive from anywhere;
•Download manager that supports scheduled downloads through FTP and HTTP;
•Windows Vista® operating system ready;
•Built-in FTP server;
•3 USB 2.0 ports;
•Equipped with WD drives using WD GreenPower technology, this system, with its efficient cooling architecture and power saving mode, consumes up to 33 percent less power3 and is reliably cool and quiet; and,
•3-year limited warranty.

[WD]