We’ve long been able to backup our files on external storage devices. And more recently we’ve had access to affordable cloud services that make our data omnipresent. But what if you could get the benefits of local and online storage in one system? That’s where Brease comes in.
Brease uses a peer-to-peer protocol that lets you back up your data to USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 storage devices – flash drives, external hard drives or even NAS boxes. The Brease computer – a cloud-shaped device roughly the size of a USB hub – has four ports for storage devices. Simply plug in any combination of storage devices and the data in them becomes accessible to all your PCs and mobile devices, thanks to Brease’s easy to use software and mobile apps. If you’ve used cloud services like Dropbox you’ll most likely get used to Brease’s software in no time.
It works the other way too – you can back up data from your computers and mobile devices to the drives connected to Brease. The beauty of this setup is that you can still remove the connected storage devices from the Brease computer and then use them separately once again. This also means that you can expand the capacity of your pseudo-cloud setup as you see fit. Finally, it means the speed of your backups are not necessarily bottlenecked by your Internet connection’s upload speed. You can transfer files from your PC directly into your storage devices then slot them into Brease.
Of course, Brease won’t be for everyone. For one, unlike major cloud backup solutions such as Backblaze and Amazon Cloud Drive you won’t achieve unlimited storage with it. Well, in theory you can have infinite capacity with Brease, but you’ll have to swap a lot of drives. Also, cloud companies maintain and replace their servers without any effort or inconvenience on your part, but if the drive or drives connected to Brease should malfunction, you’re on your own. Still, it’s a nice middle ground between purely local and purely online storage setups. Brease will also support DLNA streaming down the line, which is a nice bonus.
Pledge at least $79 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive the Brease as a reward. When it launches it will have companion software for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices.
