Westell Launches Homecloud (Introductory Price: $180)

Westell Technologies,
Inc. (WSTL),
provider of telecommunications equipment for wireline, wireless and home
networks, announced that its new Homecloud product will be available
for purchase on September 26, 2012.

Homecloud is designed to create a
personal computing cloud within a home or a small-business environment. The
Homecloud Digital Home manager (DHM) is a wireless router, a network hub, and
an application server, all rolled into one. The DHM comes with an initial set
of applications which enable automated data backup and sharing of content
across devices using the Windows, Mac OS and Apple iOS OSs.

Homecloud units may be purchased only
via the Homecloud website, beginning at 8:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 26,
2012. Orders will be accepted on a first-come basis, with limited quantities
available, at a special introductory price of $180 per unit. Fulfillment will
be provided by Amazon.

"We are introducing a new kind of
network product to the market," said Rick Gilbert, chairman and CEO of
Westell Technologies. "Homecloud effectively networks multiple devices
using a variety of OSs, and significantly simplifies the management and sharing
of data and media content. Basically, Homecloud allows the user to enjoy the
benefits of backup and sharing without the privacy and security concerns or the
bandwidth demands that are inherent in cloud-based solutions."

The Homecloud DHM hardware uses a dual
processor design with one processor dedicated to the router and the second
processor dedicated to running applications.

The initial release of Homecloud
includes the following built-in applications that allow users to quickly
protect, synchronize and share their data:

• Backup and Share – Supports automated
  backup of selected data using user-supplied attached storage drives. Backup and
  Share drives may also be shared as NAS.
• Data Protection – Continuously protects
  important data by monitoring changes and preserving all previous versions, with
  one-click restoration.
• Data Synchronization – Synchronizes
  files from Apple iOS devices to Windows and Mac OS devices in the Homecloud
  network.
• Media Sharing – Shares all movies,
  photos and music on the network with media players, game consoles and
  network-enabled televisions.
• Network Attached Storage – Turns any
  attached storage drive into a network accessible drive.
• Disk Viewer – Displays the content of
  all storage drives plugged into the Homecloud DHM.

New applications can be developed and
added to Homecloud. A Software Development Kit is included to allow users to
develop applications. An example application, supporting Picasa Albums, is
available as a download from the Homecloud website.

Future Westell-developed applications are
anticipated to provide remote access to files and collaboration with social
media and cloud storage applications.