Pogoplug, creators of Personal Cloud hardware and software that allow users to host their own cloud storage at home, announced today that they are expanding their product line with a brand new cloud storage solution optimized for small to medium-sized businesses and teams within large organizations.

The new product, called “Pogoplug Team,” is delivered via software that can be downloaded onto any existing office or home computer to empower small teams to access files remotely and back up and share work files securely and privately. The product is completely customizable to fit the company's needs and requires no new hardware. All files remain securely on the office computer: not on third party servers.

Whoa, we never thought of this as a potential use for a Pogoplug! Security researcher Brendan O'Connor, for $46 worth of parts, apparently, has transformed/hacked a Pogoplug unit into a super spy box capable of collecting data from virtually anything.

When you think about it, the fact that the Pogoplug is a highly efficient, mini-computer running Linux-based software, it seems like the hardware could be a good fit for a variety of special applications. (Of course, the software running on this hacked box is nothing like what's on the regular Pogoplug! Regular Pogoplugs don't collect spy data, they're just a great way to store and share your stuff. This is a pretty specialized hack.)

Says The Verge, "The Linux-based F-BOMB, or Falling or Ballistically-launched Object that Makes Backdoors, is designed to be highly configurable, capable of connecting to anything from a barometer to a GPS. It runs on AA batteries, and any data that's collected

Attention community members--if you're looking for the perfect digital gift for a friend or family member, or just haven't yet upgraded to Pogoplug Premium Desktop software, now is the perfect time.

Pogoplug is running a Black Friday/Cyber Monday special which gives a full $10 off--approximately 33% off the retail price of $29 USD, and brings the license price down to a paltry $19.

[Click here to get the deal before it's too late!!]

Attention Drobo owners--Pogoplug and Drobo have recently partnered up to bring attention to how they can be a perfect match for your storage and sharing needs.

Pogoplug Remote Access can instantly turn your Drobo drive into a personal cloud accessible from anywhere--plus, Drobo owners get double the space for their Pogoplug Cloud for free.

[Via Drobo.com and Business Wire]

Pogoplug Software adds your computer to your personal Pogoplug cloud, with no additional hardware required. Pogoplug Software aggregates all of the files and media stored across all of your computers (Mac or PC) or Pogoplug devices via Pogoplug’s proprietary OneView™ technology in one secure location. Pogoplug Software even enables you to share large files instantly and privately, without cumbersome uploads or email attachments.

Download the free version of Pogoplug Software from http://jp.pogoplug.com. The free version enables you to access, share and stream files and photos to the Web or your mobile device. Upgrade to a Premium license for a 2980¥ one-time fee to stream your music and movies anytime, anywhere. Pogoplug Software embraces the Pogoplug philosophy of “no fees, no limits” by letting you buy one license of our Premium edition for installation on ALL of your computers.

Pogoplug provides iOS and Android™ users with unlimited, instant streaming of entire media libraries. Stream photos from your computer to your mobile via Pogoplug

 Today Pogoplug has revealed their latest masterpiece--Pogoplug Mobile. This slick little guy packs all of the power of Pogoplug into a neat, highly portable format. 

Plus, to sweeten the deal even further, the new Pogoplug Mobile supports SD card storage, making it easy for you to transfer files from your digital camera, netbook, or other mobile device or use any existing cards you have.

Pogoplug Mobile is available for pre-order starting now for $79.99 USD, and is estimated to be available in October.

Official press release follows below:

Pogoplug Introduces New Hardware - Pogoplug Mobile™ 

Enables streaming of photos, music and video libraries from home to mobile phones and tablets, and offers automatic, secure backup of mobile content

San Francisco, California – September 1, 2011 – Cloud Engines, Inc., creators of the Pogoplug multi-media streaming service, today unveiled their first mobile-focused hardware product with a sleek new design. Pogoplug Mobile serves as a mobile cloud companion, freeing devices from storage limits by allowing users to stream entire libraries of photos, music and movies from their homes to their mobile phones or tablets. The device also enables users to share unlimited amounts of photos, videos and other content from mobile devices with friends and family

Attention Pogoplugged members--if you haven't tried the Desktop Software, you're really missing out. Your editor here uses it every day for business and personal use, not sure what he'd do without it, actually!

Right now, Pogoplug is offering a special price at only $24--which will give a Premium license to all of your computers, allowing you to stream media to mobile devices anywhere in the world. That's $5 savings, but only for a limited time! (Offer expires 12/31/2011.)

The core of the Pogoplug service has always been the My.Pogoplug web user interface along with the mobile applications--and recently, they expanded the service with the Desktop software.

Today, the folks at Cloud Engines have announced some awesome updates and enhancements for all three services--which all center around making the media streaming experience even better.

Web UI

The interface has been enhanced to include many new key features, under what is being called "Pogoplug OneView."

• Jukebox: Sit back and listen to all of your music aggregated from all of your Pogoplug-enabled devices into a single, duplicate-free library
• Cinema: Stream movies for easy remote viewing on the web or your mobile device
• Gallery: See all your pictures in a unified timeline, organized using the files’ original, rich metadata
• My Devices shows all of your Pogoplug devices and Pogoplug PCs and Macs, making it easy to find and share individual files.

Desktop Software

Looking for a different way to Pogoplug? Buffalo has recently come out with their popular Cloudstor home storage product, a sort of hybrid between a network-attached storage drive and a Pogoplug enabled device.

Right now, Buy.com is having a big sale on the 1TB Cloudstor for only $119 USD--that's a savings of $40. We've heard that it's only good for a few more days, so if you're interested, follow the link below and snag one for yourself.

Purchase a Buffalo Cloudstor from Buy.com

Description of the Cloudstor:

"CloudStor from Buffalo Technology goes beyond simple home storage. CloudStor is a personal storage solution designed with you in mind. It is your portal to freely access and share your data, photos, videos, music and much more with anyone, anywhere over the Internet. And because none of your data resides in the cloud, CloudStor is your secure solution to store and share digital assets easily and freely. With apps for mobile devices, you

Whoa, major deal on the horizon here. Buy.com is selling the Pogoplug Premium Desktop software for only $24.95 USD! That's a huge savings off the regular price of $29.95 and it even comes with free shipping.

Click here to buy now, or read the review of the desktop software to see how it can turn your computer into your own personal digital cloud.

One way or another, don't delay, as this price could end anytime!

• Purchase from Buy.com
• Read the Review

If you're visiting Pogoplugged to get an overview of what the Pogoplug hardware and software can do for you, this official video can help you get started. It's a full walkthrough of the products and services Pogoplug has to offer! Watch it below:

Here's some other resources to get you on your way to creating your own personal cloud.

• Comparison Shop for Pogoplug Products
• Pogoplug FAQ
• Discussion Forums

It's likely you've heard the "Buzz" regarding Google's new digital locker product, Google Music Beta. (Yes, the Buzz pun was completely intended.) However, did you know that you could already do this with Pogoplug--plus have total control over your cloud?

Well, we'd love to remind all potential and current Pogoplug owners that both Pogoplug hardware units and the Premium Desktop software can stream music to netbooks, laptops, other computers, and mobile devices. You'll be able to browse your music libraries by artist, album or song either through the My.Pogoplug web interface or through your mobile client.

Plus, many people have brought up concerns about the safety of their music that lives in Google's cloud. Google has been fairly forthcoming that music uploaded to the service will be analyzed/verified in some way, to ensure you have the right to upload that file. We don't condone piracy, but the thought of all of

Buffalo Technology, a well-known manufacturer of various network solutions, is finally shipping their CloudStor device--a network-attached storage unit that features Pogoplug connectivity in addition to the rest of its standard features.

It looks to have both a 1TB and 2TB flavor available, with the 2TB version getting a beefier processor for those who are in need.

[Via Electronista]

As a Pogoplugged member, you're likely aware of the pure awesomeness that it can bring to your daily professional or personal life. (We use it, literally, every day.) Pogoplug removes the limitations of cloud storage by letting you use your own USB drives.

But... what if you could securely turn your computer into your own personal cloud?

Yes--everything. Access your desktop, music, and more just as if you were on your home machine, in the same way you access your Pogoplug drives currently.

News of the exclusive beta has trickled out from SXSW, and we want our members to be some of the first to get a sneak peek (and a free license) a full month before the software is available on the market.

Codes are limited, so make sure you get yours ASAP!

How to Get Your Code

Step 1: Head to the exclusive beta registration page and snag your code while they're still available! Click here.

Attention Pogoplug PRO owners: make sure your 'Plug is powered on and connected to the Internet, as starting this evening, a firmware update will be rolling out to your device. This update will be downloaded automatically. (As with all Pogoplug firmware updates to date, it's rolled out in phases--so if you don't get it right away, don't fret--however, you can always contact Pogoplug support if you are not receiving the update.)

While this update doesn't bring any new features, it applies several various fixes as well as squashing some bugs.

Most notably, an issue experienced by a small number of users where drives could drop offline has been resolved with this update. If you are one of those users, please check to make sure you receive this update and notify Pogoplug if it fixed your issue.

When they are posted, you can view firmware release notes on Pogoplug's official download page

Pogoplug fans in Japan, rejoice--as the Pogoplug goes on sale there starting this week, with partner Softbank.

米国クラウドエンジンズとソフトバンクBB
Pogoplug®（ポゴプラグ）の国内販売開始～パーソナルクラウドを簡単に構築。ストレージの拡張性に優れ、月額費用が不要。
2月4日、国内販売店及びECサイトにて発売開始。～

You can follow the links below to the SoftBank press release:

Original Japanese Page

Original Page translated to English through Google Translate

Whoa... how cool is this?  It looks like CES 2011 has brought us some news on the first Pogoplug-enabled product to include internal storage built right in.

The Buffalo CloudStor looks, basically, to be a bigger Pogoplug with a hard drive in it - at least, at first glance.  According to Ubergizmo, it's also capable of performing backups through Mac OS's Time Machine.

It will be interesting to see and hear more about this exciting device, and answer some pressing questions, too - for example, I'm wondering if one can add additional USB drives to it ala Pogoplug.  Will the CloudStor Pro have Pogoplug PRO functionality?

CloudStor will retail for $169.99 for the 1TB model, and CloudStor Pro, the 2TB model, for $269.99.

[Via Ubergizmo]

If you're the owner of a Pogoplug PRO, check now to see if you've received the latest firmware update - version 2.5.9.

Full details can be found in this thread, along with a link to the release notes.

See... we told you.  Everybody loves Pogoplug.  Especially Cali Lewis - out of 15 gadgets she selects as her top choices, Pogoplug is #4!

Click through to her blog to watch the full video!

[Via The Blog of Cali Lewis]

Many of you may have already updated the apps on your beloved iDevices, but for those not in the know, Pogoplug just released updates to both the Pogoplug app for iPhone and PogoplugHD for iPad.

These updates introduce Japanese language support, iOS 4.2 optimizations, and assorted bug fixes.  Download now to get the best Pogoplug experience on your iDevices!

[Download Pogoplug for iPhone - 3.0.1 - iTunes Link]

[Download PogoplugHD for iPad - 2.0.1 - iTunes Link]