Okay Geek Farm
t3ch Review - PogoPlug Pro
Ricardo Trejo
Let’s say you’re on vacation visiting your relatives when all of a sudden you remember you didn’t bring the photos you had promised to show them — they’re still on your external drive at home! No doubt something like this has happened in the past, but now thanks to the cloud and the PogoPlug, you can have access to your files anywhere you’re connected to the internet.
Product: PogoPlug Pro
Features
- Unlimited Data Cloud Storage
- WiFi connectivity
- 4 USB ports
- Media server streaming
- Social media integration
Review
The PogoPlug Pro is an updated version of last year’s PogoPlug. In this Pro model, we’re given a WiFi capable black device, replacing the outlandish pink paint job chosen for its predecessor. In terms of overall design, its the exact same layout; 4 USB ports to accomodate multiple external hard drives, a power cord input, and on its front, a light that notifies you when you’re connected to the internet.
So what’s it do? Well what the PogoPlug Pro does is host an unlimited amount of data from the external drives connected to it, and allows you to access and download those files over an online webapp on PogoPlug’s own site anywhere you have access it. What makes this different from other cloud services such as Dropbox and Window’s LiveMesh is that you aren’t limited to uploading single files at a time, and again you don’t have a limit on how much you can share. Instead you’re essentially “streaming” your entire external hard drive and all of its contents to anywhere or anyone you want to give access to. In theory and in concept, it’s a tremendous idea, but how well does it work?
Set Up and Activation
The box says it takes less than 90 seconds to set up, but as soon as we started we noticed something that put us off right away. You see, the PogoPlug Pro is able to host your files onto your own personal cloud because it’s directly connected via USB to any external hard drives you may have, and a router so it can be accessed over the network. What that meant for us though was that we no longer could have our external hard drive, the one in which we use to house all our media files, plugged to our computer since it was now across the room where the router and modem were situated. That being said, the only way to access these files (iTunes library and so on) was through PogoPlug’s online webapp, which is redundant seeing as we would have to download them to our desktop, which kills the whole purpose of having an external drive.
We know this isn’t what the PogoPlug was designed for, but since it does require moving the external drive back and forth it really felt as if we were blindsided by a predicament we didn’t know would exist. And after experiencing this we realized that others who might consider buying the PogoPlug might need to know that if you want to use this device you’re going to have to:
(A.) Buy another external hard drive with only the files you want to share.
(B.) Unplug and set your external drive back and forth between your computer and the PogoPlug depending on which you want to use.
(C.) Rework your tech layout and move your router and modem next to your computer, which in case you’re still going to have to plug in and out your external drive to whichever device you’re going to want to use it with.
WebApp
Well, now that that’s settled, we figured we wouldn’t need our precious external’s horde right this second and imagined we were going on a vacation, and so we picked up the drive and moved it next to the router, plugged it into the PogoPlug Pro, and then hooked up the Pogo to the router via the included ethernet cable.
Once that was done, we simply logged onto the website, which is necessary to do since the box includes no further instructions except to go to the site for what to do next. Online, you are then taken to an activation process that lasts only about a minute; it detects your network and the PogoPlug on it, you create a PogoPlug account, and then you’re ready to access your files from wherever you are.
The webapp isn’t what we would call user friendly. Even we, people who are quite tech savvy, had a tough time trying to figure out what all the options and features. And it doesn’t help that there aren’t any written instructions that come along in the box — instead your only option is to go to the main PogoPlug site and watch their video tutorials on how to understand the In’s and Out’s of how to access your own content. From then on the experience was mostly trial and error.
After we sorta got the hang of it, we could see all the folders and files as if we were browsing through our own computer’s filing system. To get a certain file or even entire folder was as easy as selecting them and then choosing “Download”. You can also upload files from your location to your home’s external drive at home, however be wary of how the sizes of your files as this could take a very, very long time.
iPhone App
One interesting aspect of the PogoPlug service is that you can also access your media through a free iPhone app. Just download it to your iOS device, connect via 3G or WiFi, sign into your PogoPlug account, and watch movies, listen to songs, or view images straight from your iPad, iPod, or iPhone. You can even upload files from your iThing to your PogoPlug on the cloud, however we weren’t able to do get this working since the app would crash as soon as we attempted it. While being able to view your content from anywhere sounds like the greatest thing in the world it does come with spotty and occasional app crashes, incompatible file types, and just down right, frustrating load times. The world of streaming all of our personal content instantly just isn’t here yet, and certainly not on a mobile platform working on a 3G network.
Media Server Streaming
Along with the iOS app, there’s also the ability to use your PogoPlug as a media server, allowing your home consoles, such as the Xbox 360 and PS3 to stream your content right to your TV. The system works seemlessly, however again, this will all be dependent on compatible file types — No .MKV support here. And while viewing your media this way might be convenient for you, accessing them can be a bit of a chore. Unlike the WebApp where everything is nicely set up in the folders from your external, when displayed on the Xbox 360, they’re all lumped up together into one folder, showing countless video files all in one place, sorted via alphabetical order. This certainly isn’t the most ingenius way to find that one video you were hoping to watch, especially when you could simply plug your external drive to your game console directly, and find and enjoy your media easily with folders.
Some other features to note; social media integration that allows you tweet out or share as a status update on facebook links to files you’re sharing via your PogoPlug; drag-and-drop uploading and downloading; and also, cloud-printing.
Overall
The PogoPlug Pro may be the best sounding solution out there for sharing on the cloud, and when seen as just a means to send an unlimited amount of information from one computer to another, it is just that. However, an uninviting WebApp experience, a mobile iOS app that is practically useless, as well as a bunch of unncessary features all come together into a device that seems to have an identity crisis. But if you break it down and forget about all the extra stuff tacked on, and you’re looking for a way to share unlimited amounts of data to anyone, anywhere, and don’t mind sacrificing an external hard drive, then the PogoPlug is an option you might want to consider.
Pro’s
- Black color design is much sleeker than pink
- Unlimited cloud storage blows competition away
- WiFi cleans up unnecessary wires
Con’s
- External hard drive only accessible through Pogo
- WebApp is NOT user friendly
- Uploading files takes an eternity
- iOS app crashes on launch
Price: $79 - 99
Where to buy it: Best Buy, PogoPlug
Photos
This review was done by Ricardo Trejo, who was provided a PogoPlug Pro by PogoPlug.
