Review: Make Any Drive An Internet Drive With Seagate’s FreeAgent DockStar (Verdict: Great, With One Big Catch)

11:59 pm, September 28th, 2009, Eli Milchman

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When a gadget has a doppelganger, the differences between the two are automatically thrown into sharp relief. Because Seagate’s DockStar runs on Pogoplug technology and uses the Pogoplug interface, our review of Cloud Engine’s Pogoplug a few weeks back pretty much covers the DockStar completely.

The DockStar performs the same exact function as the Pogoplug: it’s an instant, easy-to-use internet connection for any hard drive. Transfer files to a USB thumb drive or portable drive, plug it into the DockStar, then access the files from anywhere on the Internet. But there are three differences between the two products — one of them a big catch.

Hit the jump for the full skinny.

Company: Seagate
Model: FreeAgent DockStar Network Adapter
List Price: $99.99
Compatible: Most Mac computers.
Buy Now: The FreeAgent DockStar Network Adapter is available from Amazon for $79.99 with free shipping.

The first deviation is that the $100 DockStar, as its name suggests, is a dock. With help from Cloud Engines, Seagate took the Pogoplug’s guts and stuck them inside a dock that mates with Seagate’s FreeAgent Go line of portable hard drives. (There’s one big exception — see below).

Then they added three USB ports, essentially turning the DockStar into a four-port Pogoplog (three USB ports plus the dock port, which is mini-USB). So far, so good. But here’s the catch: the Pogoplug asks for no extra fees, while the DockStar comes with one year of free use, then requires an extra $30 per year to use the web-based application (identical in every way to the Pogoplug’s web-based application). Without access to the web app, files can’t be accessed over the Internet, and what’s good about the DockStar disappears.

The DockStar's business end: two extra USB ports next to the ethernet and power port.

And the DockStar won’t actually dock with the obvious choice for any Mac user, the FreeAgent Go for Mac (which we’ll be reviewing soon). In contrast with the plain-vanilla FreeAgent Go — which has a central mini USB port that plays nicely with the DockStar’s mini USB prong — the Mac version has a central FireWire port.

The FreeAgent Go Mac's central FireWire 800 port and the DockStar's mini USB prong.

The similarity between the two products — yet the difference in fees — made me wonder if there were any surprise announcements in the near future from either of the two companies; but Cloud Engines says it has no plans to discontinue the Pogoplug, and Seagate says it isn’t planning any new functionality for the DockStar. So, if you expect to use the technology for a year or less, the $100 DockStar with its extra USB ports makes sense. If you’re going to hang on to it for longer, a $99 Pogoplug and a $5 USB hub might be a better deal.

Seagate's DockStar next to its ancestor, the Pogoplug.

In the box: DockStar, power adapter, ethernet cable.

In the box: Ethernet cable, DockStar, power adapter.

Posted by Eli Milchman in Hardware, Reviews, Web | Comment on this article

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About the author

When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others.

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