The good: The Pogoplug Series 4 is an adapter that lets you access any 2.5-inch hard drive, USB storage device, or SD card from anywhere online. It’s easy to set up, attractively small, and smartly designed. Files can be accessed via browser or apps, and automatic backup of photos and videos from a phone or iPad using the Pogoplug app works surprisingly well, too.
The bad: Video playback on a TV is still a weird and kludgy experience, and video formats don’t all work perfectly; automated file backup isn’t as smooth and transparent as on an Apple Time Capsule or other NAS device; USB 3 flash drives got extremely hot when plugged in.
The bottom line: The Pogoplug Series 4 is a cleverly simple device for getting files and media from your hard drive, USB drive, or SD card online and making them shareable with smartphones, tablets, and PCs. While many may find it redundant with cloud storage services, the Series 4 is easily the best version of the Pogoplug to date.
