Today Data Robotics is releasing a NAS upgrade for Drobo called the DroboShare, which will support:

Gigabit Ethernet, static or dynamic IPs
Auto-mounting SMB shares via Drobo Dashboard (supports SMB authentication)
Dual USB 2.0 ports for two Drobos per DroboShare
EXT3 file system support
Capacities up to 16TB
And possibly our favorite: email alerts, should a drive happen to crash, for example
It’s also worth noting that Drobo is still capable of switching between NAS and direct-attached modes if you decide you want to take your Drobo OFF the network.

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD) announced a mobile personal storage line based on its market-leading 1.8-inch HDD, along with the industry’s highest-capacity portable external hard drive based on the 2.5-inch HDD platform at 320GB.
Toshiba’s new USB 2.0 Mobile External Hard Drive will be available in 60GB, 80GB and 120GB models for unparalleled capacity in a pocket-sized mobile storage device. This new line of personal storage devices combines the portability of a USB flash drive with the high capacity of a hard drive for the ultimate mobile digital warehouse for entertainment and data files. The 2.5-inch hard drive can store up to 91,000 digital photos, 84,000 MP3 music files, 142 hours of DVD videos or 37 hours of high-definition videos. It comes bundled with the award-winning NTI Shadow™ software, enabling even digital novices to easily conduct computer backup and enjoy peace-of-mind in knowing critical data and cherished digital files are protected.

These external HDDs will be available at retail this spring, while the 2.5-inch 320GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive is available this month at toshibadirect.com and through major retailers and online outlets. Manufacturer suggested retail price for the 320GB 2.5-inch external HDD is 200 USD.

SanDisk soon to launch a new 4GB USB flash drive named Cruzer Titanium Plus at upcoming CES 2008 in Las Vegas, USA. It supports automatic online back-up feature. It will be available in the USA market starting from March for 60 USD. Online backup service will be offered for free for the first six months and then there will be a fee of 30 USD a month afterwards.

Narae Inter introduced a new ball point pen with a laser pointer combined with 4GB USB. The laser pointer works on rechargeable battery and can be charged through USB. These types of gadgets look good for one second but then you find that there are several draw backs. The pen will be bulky due to rechargeable battery inside and small refill means you will have to change refill often. Then refill of such pens are rare and not easily available making the pen useless after some time.

It’s raining portable HDD these days after Fujitsu, Buffalo has just announced what it’s touting as the “world’s largest” portable external hard drive, a 320GB dynamo called the MiniStation Turbo USB HD-PS320U2. This 5,400rpm platter features 256-bit AES encryption courtesy of Buffalo’s Secure Lock Ware utility, and Windows users also getting Memeo’s AutoBackup software thrown in to boot. Look for this portable powerhouse next month for around $319.