This has been another great week for us at Pogoplug-we've made some big announcements, and there are a few more up our sleeves. (Stay tuned!) In the meantime, here's some of the latest news.

VentureBeat covered our momentum release Wednesday, writing, "Who needs Amazon's cloud storage when you can turn your own hard drive into a cloud-enabled device? That's the question Pogoplug has been asking consumers with its family of personal cloud devices, which can make any hard drive accessible from the web. And it seems the company has struck a nerve." Read article.

Pogoplug Mobile in Japan, released in partnership with Softbank.

We also got a write-up in Hemispheres, United Airlines' inflight magazine: "Make your own cloud. If you already have an external hard drive at home with all your media loaded on it, the easiest way to turn it into a remote-accessible personal cloud is to plug it into Pogoplug."

Pogoplug has now hit the 1MM mark of personal clouds created in homes and offices, and is managing more than 150 petabytes of end-user storage.

"Pogoplug is the only solution that makes all of your content available anytime, anywhere, regardless of where it is stored," said Daniel Putterman, CEO and co-founder. "Our customers are excited about the flexibility we provide by allowing them to host their own cloud in the privacy of their home and to use our hosted cloud when offsite storage is preferable."

U.S. Retail Expansion

As part of our expansion plan for making our line of personal cloud devices available to a growing audience, we're significantly expanding our retail presence and number of storefronts.  Our new Pogoplug Mobile product will be available in 3,200 Walmart stores across the United States starting in May. The new Pogoplug Series 4 will be available in all Best Buy stores starting in April.

Hello Pogoplug users! What's been going on with Pogoplug this week? We're glad you asked.

First up, a review of the Series 4 from CNET: "The Pogoplug Series 4 is an adapter that lets you access any 2.5-inch hard drive, USB storage device, or SD card from anywhere online. It's easy to set up, attractively small, and smartly designed. Files can be accessed via browser or apps." Read the article.

In utterly awesome news, Pogoplug is now spy tested, espionage approved. A bevy ofonline tech publications have covered the F-BOMB (Falling or Ballistically-launched Object that Makes Backdoors) designed by security researcher Brendan O'Connor, but this article from MSNBC?goes way in-depth:

"Built from just the hardware in a commercially-available PogoPlug mini-computer, a few tiny antennas, eight gigabytes of flash memory and some 3D-printed plastic casing, the F-BOMB serves as 3.5 by 4 by 1 inch spy computer. And O'Connor has designed the cheap gadgets to be dropped from a drone, plugged inconspicuously into a wall socket, thrown over a barrier, or otherwise put into irretrievable positions to quietly collect data and send it back to the owner over any available Wifi network."

If you're anything like me, you value consistent access to your content. On a road trip? Out of town? On an airplane? Doesn't matter; I still need to get to my files. The world's not slowing down anytime soon!

Fortunately, Pogoplug Software helps grant your wish and mine by making it easy to keep up with everything you need, no matter where you are.? Today, we examine one of our favorite Software features: Remote Access.

Remote access is great for people on the go. It allows you to stream folders directly from your home computer to your mobile device or any Web browser.

When you haven't had a chance to sync your data but need to get to your files in the meantime, enable remote access. Within seconds, you'll be able to reach your files, photos and videos from your phone, your tablet, any computer associated with your Pogoplug account or the Web.

As promised, we're back to discuss all our favorite Pogoplug Software features! This week: a personal anecdote, and Sync.

In the spring of 2011, I was two weeks from finishing my undergraduate thesis when my computer's battery exploded. Not ideal. We ultimately rescued the thesis, but I could have saved myself about 48 hours of useless, flailing panic over the ruins of my laptop if I'd had something like Pogoplug's Sync feature.

Sometimes disaster happens. Toddlers drop phones in the bathtub, computers explode, and when they do, you really don't want to lose your important data. That's why it's reassuring to store your files in another secure location- automatically.

Selecting the Sync option in Pogoplug software allows me to choose a folder and sync it to any of my Pogoplug devices. When I add or modify files in that folder, my device updates automatically to reflect the changes.

If the worst should happen, you can

At CES 2012, Senior Editor of CNET Scott Stein chats with our co-founder and CPO Jed Putterman about the latest in cloud technology and services.

"The good news is, I don't have to explain to people what cloud is anymore," says Putterman, of the past few years' rapid change in the field of cloud technology.

In this interview, he and Stein discuss a bevy of recent cloud developments, including hardware vs. software, the abundance of information we're putting out there (for instance: new technology that monitors your workouts and shares the results with your friends), and the confusion that abounds in a landscape where the definition of a 'cloud' is still up in the air.

On this last point, Putterman is glad to demystify: "For us, cloud is just, 'make it available anywhere.' Wherever you are, as long as you have an internet connection, it shouldn't matter where it's physically being stored."

Having trouble getting the cap off your Series 4? Watch this video!

If you've got questions about your Series 4 or other Pogoplug products and services, contact our 24/7 support or online knowledge base.

For a limited time only, Pogoplug is offering an incredible deal to CNET members!

CNET members now have the opportunity to purchase a 30GB Pogoplug Cloud for one year, plus a Pogoplug Mobile device, for just $49.95.

Sign up free with CNET today for this great deal on Pogoplug products! Buy now, this offer expires on Friday, January 13th!

Pogoplug Cloud allows you to store, stream and share your files and media wherever you are-and it's free for the first 5GB. We've received rave reviews and positive feedback from users In the month since we launched our free Pogoplug Cloud service, and many users have asked when they can upgrade to add more storage to their cloud.

I'm proud to announce that Pogoplug now offers cloud expansion designed for your mobile life and at the best rates available in the industry. Tell your friends!

We offer three ways to add to your cloud:

30GB ($4.95/month)
100GB ($14.95/month)
1000GB ($59.95/month)

Or buy a Pogoplug device for unlimited storage and no monthly fees. See all expansion options at http://pogoplug.com/expansion.

After you've tried Pogoplug Cloud, we'd love to hear from you! Write to feedback@pogoplug.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks for your continued support,

Jed Putterman
Chief Product Officer