Hammer Storage Introduces myshare
By Colleen Bohen -- TWICE, 4/23/2007
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Hammer Storage, a division of Bell Microproducts, has made available its myshare network attached storage system (NAS).
The 1TB version has a suggested retail of $499.
According to the company, the product is preconfigured for plug-and-play installation. Users do not have to install any software; instead they plug the devices into their network routers and begin storing and sharing.
The product is being targeted at the consumer and small office/home office markets. Andy Dorian, Hammer's product manager, said the company's primary motivation in creating myshare came from a desire to make it easy for the user to share data between multiple devices.
In turn, one of the product's highlighted functions is that it makes it easy to share content across multiple platforms (between a Mac and PC, for example). It also allows users to access their shared content remotely via the Web, to allow consumers to share pictures or digital home movies with their friends and family.
Looking ahead, Dorian told TWICE he sees a lot growth potential in the NAS market. Trends like consumers choosing laptops over desktop computers and the resulting increased demand for external storage will help the NAS market. Concurrently, he predicted that as the home networking trend evolves and further penetrates the mainstream, it will serve to further the demand for shared access to data.
"As people get more comfortable with the network, storage will move on to the network," he said.
As for the future of the myshare product, Dorian said the product will soon have increased functionality. A firmware update set to bow "in the next 30 to 45 days" is expected to make it possible for myshare to stream to univeral plug-and-play-friendly devices like the new Apple TV.
