Canon launches photo storage hard drive

Unveiled at the 2015 International CES, the Connect Station CS100 is the perfect device for anyone who wants to back up all of their images and movies but doesn't trust the cloud and doesn't want to carry a computer around either.

Unveiled at the 2015 International CES, the Connect Station CS100 is the perfect device for anyone who wants to back up all of their images and movies but doesn't trust the cloud and doesn't want to carry a computer around either.

The idea behind the device is to offer the security and convenience of a standalone hard drive dedicated to images but without the hassle of also needing to link the device to a computer first or to have to dig out connecting cables and other dongles.

The Connect Station CS100 has a whole 1TB of space inside and it supports NFC and can connect to a wireless network too so transferring files from a pro-standard DSLR camera or a digital camcorder is effortless. As is finding them again. The unit comes with a remote control and can be plugged into a television or a computer monitor for easy viewing of content.

Images can be classified by date, subject, source -- i.e., which of your cameras or other devices was used for shooting -- and customized albums can be created too.

And although the idea is to do away with the PC's role as the middleman in backing up content to a hard drive, a browser-based app can also be used for managing the CS100's content and for adding images from other sources.

The CS100 will cost $299.99 when it goes on sale later this year and although it is optimized for more recent Canon cameras that support wi-fi and NFC connectivity for automated wireless transfer, it will also work with older cameras. As well as an SD Card and a Compact Flash car slot, the device also has a USB port for making a wired connection when needed.