WD has introduced its new My Cloud family of personal cloud solutions. My Cloud is a “complete solution” for users to organize, centralize, and secure the digital content from all of their computers and mobile devices and access those files from any device, from anywhere in the world. By connecting a My Cloud personal cloud drive to the Internet, users get the anywhere, any device access they can get from the public cloud, without having to pay monthly fees or giving up control of their personal data.
“We believe that there’s no place like home for the cloud,” says Jim Welsh, executive vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products and consumer electronics groups. “Everyone is inundated with thousands of digital files scattered across multiple computers and mobile devices, and controlling that chaos is a challenge. WD’s personal cloud is the easiest, most secure and most affordable way for customers to control that chaos, with access to all of their files anywhere, anytime.”
“Families are connecting, sharing, syncing, and backing-up numerous mobile devices and computers in their household, with the amount of digital data being created on these devices growing dramatically,” says Liz Conner, senior research analyst, storage systems, IDC. “Personal cloud is an ideal solution to simplify the complex issue of organizing digital files across various devices so that users can enjoy their digital videos, photos and music on all of their devices.” Small businesses will also benefit from My Cloud.
Setup and Backup
Once the My Cloud drive is setup, users can connect their computers and mobile devices with WD’s free desktop and mobile apps. With a gigabit Ethernet connection and dual-core processor, transferring files is “blazing fast,” allowing users to centralize all of the digital content scattered across various devices onto My Cloud. With direct file uploads from mobile devices, important files and videos can be moved to My Cloud, freeing up space on users’ tablets and smartphones.
Users can also use their My Cloud to back up their computers and digital files. For PC users, WD SmartWare Pro software offers options for how, when, and where to back up files. Mac users can utilize all the features of Apple Time Machine backup software to protect their data.
Capacity and Compatibility
My Cloud users can store and organize their families’ photos, videos, music, and important documents in one place on the home network. My Cloud is available in 2 TB, 3 TB, and 4 TB capacities, providing “bountiful” storage capacity with no monthly payment required. It is compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OS X Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard, as well as DLNA/UPnP enabled devices. Customers can also attach a compatible USB 3.0 hard drive directly to the USB expansion port on the My Cloud drive and expand their storage capacity.
Additionally, My Cloud serves as a digital entertainment hub, storing terabytes of movies and music that can be streamed to any DLNA-certified multimedia device such as a WD TV Live media player, as well as smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Accessing the Personal Cloud
Available for iOS and Android devices, the new WD My Cloud mobile app allows users to view photos, stream video, and access their files from anywhere on their smartphones or tablets. The mobile app also makes file sharing and collaborating “simple and secure,” allowing customers to easily email files, share files as a link, and print and open files with third party apps.
Additionally, the My Cloud mobile app integrates major public cloud services so that customers can transfer files between their Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Google Drive public cloud accounts.
Price and Availability
The 2 TB and 3 TB My Cloud is currently available at select U.S. retailers and online at the wdstore.com. The 4 TB My Cloud is expected to be available in November. MSRP is $149.99 USD for 2 TB, $179.99 USD for 3 TB and $249.99 USD for 4 TB. The My Cloud mobile app currently is available for download from the App StoreSM and Google PlayTM. A two drive and four drive My Cloud configuration will be available in the future.
