With the My Cloud, WD has made it easy for consumers to store all their files in one place and access them from anywhere in the world. This good looking, single-bay NAS is ready to go out of the box and can be set up in a matter of minutes using its easy to use, web-based user interface. When connected to your home network, the My Cloud can be used to share files between computers and mobile devices, backup both Macs and PCs and stream music and movies to any DLNA-certified device. Where the My Cloud really shines is its ability to be accessed from pretty much anywhere. With WD's desktop and mobile apps, you can access and upload files directly to your personal cloud from nearly any internet connected device.
The only real issue I have about the My Cloud is its somewhat limited backup options. While WD gives you the ability to take a snapshot of the data on the device, it can only be stored on a USB drive or a share on your local network. This is fine if the drive fails and you need to restore your data to another My Cloud device, but it leaves you vulnerable to things like theft, fires and natural disasters. Of course, if this is important to you, cloud based backups are available on WD's new 2 and 4-bay NAS devices.
The My Cloud is available now in 2TB, 3TB and 4TB capacities. Prices on Amazon.com start at $143 for the 2TB version and go up to $219.
Highs:
- Easy to setup and manage
- Accessible from anywhere using desktop and mobile apps
- Good looking and well constructed design
- Supports USB and network backups
- iTunes music and DLNA media servers
- USB 3.0 expansion port
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Quiet operation
- Reasonably priced
- 2 year warranty
Lows:
- Mediocre read and write speeds
- Hard drive is not removable
- Does not support offsite backups
