In-Stat, a high-tech market research firm, announced in its latest consumer network storage report that Buffalo Technology once again dominated the consumer market in 2007 with 23.8% of the overall worldwide market, leading by a wide margin. According to the report entitled, Global Consumer Network Storage: Adding Media Servers, Remote Access, and DLNA, media serving features, simple-to-use interfaces, and remote access have helped accelerate the consumer network storage market growing it by almost 60% in 2007.

"Signs point to very solid growth through 2012 for this market. Although competition in the consumer network storage space has increased with more players, Buffalo has not only held on to its number one position for three years in a row, but has increased its lead," said Joyce Putscher, principal analyst at In-Stat.

Network attached storage solutions are storage devices that can be accessed over a computer network (usually TCP/IP), rather than directly being connected to the computer (internal hard drives or external USB/SCSI drives). NAS devices enable multiple computers to share the same storage space at once. Many of these network solutions also feature remote access enabling people to easily access their digital content whenever and wherever they need it. It also makes it easy for people to back up business data and files, or to share and enjoy photos, music and video while away from the home or office.

“With the explosion of digital content that is being created and consumed every day, consumers are looking for easy-to-use, centralized storage solutions that can provide anytime, anywhere access to their data, and as In-Stat research has pointed out, this has caused an increase in demand for more network storage capacity,” said Takayuki Nishioka, CEO of Buffalo Technology, USA. “Buffalo is committed to delivering dynamic and interactive storage solutions to meet this demand so that consumers can not only store but also manage, access and protect their digital assets.”

The recently released LinkStation Mini is the perfect space-saving solution for storing and sharing large amounts of digital content. Best of all, its dual drive configuration provides complete data redundancy through RAID 1. In addition, users with a large media library will appreciate the included DLNA server by TwonkyVision, so they can stream files through any DLNA compatible media player. To best enjoy your multimedia content, the LinkStation Mini is built without an internal fan. This fan-less design ensures absolute quiet operation, which is big plus if the unit is placed on a desk or entertainment center.

The LinkStation Mini includes Buffalo’s own Web Access feature, which allows users to easily access content stored on the device from anywhere in the world via a web browser. It also includes a Remote Power Feature, which can power up the unit remotely with the included Navigator software.  The extra USB port allows users to add an additional external hard drive for expanded capacity or a printer that can then be shared via the integrated print server. It also supports UPS so the unit can gracefully shut down in the event of a power failure. The product measures only 1.57 x 3.22 x 5.31 inches and weighs a slight 1.1 pounds.

Pricing and Availability
Backed by a limited one-year warranty and toll-free 24/7 technical support, the LinkStation Mini is currently available in 500GB or 1TB capacities and can be purchased through distributors, online resellers and Buffalo’s web site. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for the 500GB is $299.99 and $599.99 for the 1TB.