NAS devices used to be pretty much exclusive to the office and enterprise settings to allow for central data backups. With many consumers now producing and using tons of digital content the NAS is also finding its way into homes.

Thecus has unveiled its latest NAS product called the N4200. The device has smart bays that will work with SATA drives of 2.5-inches and 3.5-inches. The device has a built-in battery back up to preserve settings and unwritten data in the event of a blackout.

Iomega has a full line of network attached storage products that it offers. The company has recently added a new version to its line called the StorCenter ix2-200 with dual removable drive bays. The device is aimed at the home office and small office user.

Iomega offers the device in 2TB capacity right now for $369.99. A 4TB version is coming soon at $699.99 and a 1TB edition is available now for $269.99. All versions have the same compact form factor designed to sit on your desk without taking up much space.

NetGear has now jumped into the consumer NAS market with a 1TB offering dubbed Stora. It’s basically a “dumbed down” version of their business NAS devices, compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows platforms. It should work pretty good as an iTunes or DLNA server.

It’s also ships with a two-bay configuration which is auto-set to mirror data. The NetGear Stora MS2110 will retail for $229 and comes with a 1TB drive.

LG’s latest N2R1 NAS device is set to arrive this fall in 1TB and 2TB capacities and should prove to be a good alternative to the Time Capsule from Apple since they occupy the same price points as Apple with the same amount of storage.

The difference is that LG’s version is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac, which makes drive swapping easy. It should be DLNA-compliant, with a network-sharable DVD player/RW. It uses 802.11g instead of 802.11n. They will cost you $299 and $399 respectively.

You had a long wait if you were waiting for Buffalo to get around to a new TeraStation, but here it is at last. Buffalo’s latest TeraStation NAS integrates with Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 for up to 4TB of storage. It also features support for Raid 5/0/1 and VSS, and packs in four hot-swappable drive bays.

The WS-Q2.0TL/R5 (2TB version) is available for about $1,658. The WS-Q4.0TL/R5 (4TB) will cost you about $2,077. Hopefully this bad boy fits in your budget.

Xtreamer is launching a new ultra compact NAS that supports up to 4TB of storage across two bays. And if you purchase last year’s model by November 1st, 2009, you’ll be able to pre-order this one for €59 ($84) when it becomes available.

After November 1st, 2009 it will cost you €99. If you don’t have the current Xtreamer you might want to pick up both for a €198 price.

A few years ago the need for network storage really only existed in the business world. Today businesses still need network storage, but many consumers also need network storage devices to hold the glut of digital files the average consumer has today.

Iomega has announced a new high-performance four bay NAS enclosure called the StorCenter ix4-200d. The device is based on the EMS storage technology and offers users up to 8TB of storage space. The device features multiple RAID configurations, remote access and management, and IP security camera support.

Today QNAP Systems announced two new Turbo NAS servers that target enterprise and corporate environments. The TS-439U-RP and the TS-439U-SPK both have four drives and can work with 1U racks and are hot-swappable.

They can hold up to 8TB using 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch hard drives and have a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor along with 1GB of RAM for 87.3MBps transfer speeds. Both can be set up in RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 and 5+ configurations and also have iSCSI Target service and dual gigabit LAN ports.

Digital Cowboy just rustled up its latest multimedia player called Movie Cowboy. Yee-Haw. This device can double as a NAS, which is convenient. The Movie Cowboy can stream all High Definition and Standard Definition content onto most modern TVs through the magic of an HDMI output.

It also includes a USB port, two USB hosts and composite output, so it can reproduce MPEG2 HD(ts,tp,trp), MPEG-1/2, Xvid, DAT, ISO, VOB, IFO, MKV(x.264), H.264, WMV9, ASF, MOV, RMVB, FLV, MP4, MotionJPEG video files, alongside MP3, AAC, OGG, AC3, DTS, MPEG1/2 Layer 1/2/3(MP3), MPEG2-2BC, MPEG-2/4 ACC-LG, WMA9(Pro) and FLAC audio files.

Hitachi has released the SimpleTough and SimpleDrive Mini USB drives, along with SimpleNet. At $79, SimpleNet is a useful little USB to Ethernet box that turns the SimpleTough or SimpleDrive into a network attached storage (NAS) device on your local network.

SimpleNet works wirh non-Hitachi drives too. The USB drive appears as a drive on the network so you can easily share your pics, movies, tunes and documents with everyone on your network.

Synology’s freshly announced DS409Slim NAS keeps things nice, simple and compact. Small? Yes, but you’ll still get four bays for 2.5-inch drives of your choice (up to 2TB total). The company says that using 2.5″ drives increases tolerance for physical shocks, reduces power consumption and results in a smaller footprint. Lower power consumption also allows the cooling fan to stay off “under normal operating conditions” with even four drives installed.

Specs include a 1.2GHz Marvell processor, 128MB of RAM, two USB ports, and one eSATA port. It also features DLNA certification and support for UPnP and other features. It will start shipping this month for about $400.

Seagate has been busy lately. They’ve just updated their BlackArmor line with three new units, a 220 NAS that holds up to 4TB, a WS 100 external drive with eSATA and USB 2.0, and a PS 110 portable drive that holds up to 500GB.

The Seagate BlackArmor NAS 220 is available in late July for $449.99 for 2TB and $699.99 for 4TB. The Seagate BlackArmor WS 110 is available now at $159.99 for 1TB and $309.99 for 2TB. The Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 is also available now for $159.99 for 500GB.

External storage is particularly important in the business world where the loss of data can mean the loss of significant money or important records that can’t be replaced. For that reason businesses often spend lots of money on external storage solutions. Seagate has announced new NAS devices that are more affordable than the average solution.

The new products are in the BlackArmor line and include the NAS 440 and NAS 420 storage servers, which can support up to 8TB each. Both of the devices are four bay, hot swappable units that offer a centralized way to backup and secure data in a business or home. The NAS 420 ships with two drives installed with 2TB of total capacity. The NAS 440 comes with four drives installed and capacities up to 8TB.

Anyone who creates media in the home or office from home movies or professional video needs storage that keeps the video safe and secure. The problem with some external storage solutions is that the devices are too slow to stream the video and writing large files to the devices can take a long time.

QNAP has announced what it claims to be the world’s first iSCSI NAS devices with single and dual bays. The interface offers improved performance compared to many external solutions on the market. The TS-119 is a single bay NAS device while the TS-219 is a dual bay device. Both use a 1.2GHz CPU, 512MB DDR2 RAM and up to 8 iSCSI devices can be daisy chained.

When it comes to providing storage for multiple computers on a network in an office or home, the easiest way to do that is with a network storage device. These devices connect directly to a network and offer external storage for any computer on the network.

Iomega has announced a pair of new network storage devices in different capacities called the StorCenter Pro ix4-100. The ix4-100 comes in either 2TB or 4TB capacity and both versions use four internal hard drives that are hot swappable.