EDS14 and DS414j are inbound
I’m a huge fan of Synology NAS devices, there’s no denying that. So whenever I get a press release from Synology HQ I’m always excited to see what’s coming.
Todays announcement was for two new devices, one a traditional 4-bay NAS, and the other a little bit different. Lets start with what we’re used to.
DS414j
The DS414j is Synology’s 4-bay budget model, replacing last years DS413j. Synology suggest that this model is suited to small and home office use (or for keen hobbyists, I would argue).
Unlike previous iterations of the “j” lineup, the DS414j comes with a cool, retro looking black chassis, a dual core 1,2GHz ARM CPU, and 512MB of RAM.
What’s more, it has USB 3, can support up to 20TB of storage space, and draws only 8.5W during hibernation (36.7W in general use).
UK RRP, with no hard disks, is £258 including VAT.
EDS14
The EDS14 is very different from any other model in the Synology range. The only thing that comes close to it, at least as a concept, is the USB Station 2.
Just like the USB Station, the EDS14 doesn’t have room for any internal storage, instead it relies on USB ports and an SDXC card slot for storage space.
Definitely designed to be used in a variety of environments, the EDS14 is tiny (Synology refer to it as palm-size), can withstand temperatures up to 60ºC, can be powered from any DC source between 7V and 24V, and can even be powered from a PoE (Power over Ethernet) switch when used with a power splitter.
It’s clear from this short list that the EDS14 is designed to be used in pretty harsh conditions. Off the top of my head, I would consider throwing a huge SD card in one of these bad boys and then fitting it to my car. Imagine having instant access to a library of videos, playable via the DS Video app on a tablet or smart phone. That’ll keep the kids quiet.
It looks like you can even connect up a 3G/LTE USB dongle to allow for Internet access on the go, which is interesting, I wonder if you can then share that connection with other devices on the network.
I digress, clearly this is a different kind of device from Synology, and in this ever connected world, definitely one that has a place as an embedded solution somewhere.
Further details of the EDS14 can be found here, it’s priced in the UK at £154, including VAT