Network storage will become a bigger and important part of the home-consumer market with the adoption of tablet computers. Currently, iPad 2 maxes out its SSD drive with 64 GB worth of disk space. The Kindle and the Nook tablets are on the low end of storage, but Amazon wants you to use their cloud and perhaps Barnes and Noble does, too. Yet, as consumers go digital with their books, magazines, movies, television, and photos, there is going be a need for local storage.There are Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices already being sold, but it's not a category that the average consumer will know about. This area is ripe for someone with an Apple-like bent to come in and remake the market.Here's how I would make my own NAS appliance:First, wireless and wired. Allow it to be connected by a physical connection.Second, web browser interface. Configuration should be straightforward for the least tech savvy of users, but allow for as much customization under the hood for those techies.Third, hot swappable. Drop in a drive and it should be ready in a click of the mouse. Plus, the chassis for this thing should contain 1-10 drives slots, but are adapted by price point: cheap is 1 drive, expensive is 10 drives.Fourth, BYOD. The user can use any drive they want. Old 5200 RPM spinning platters? Go for it. SSD? Go for it. Mix and match. Do it.I know about Apple's own NAS, Time Capsule, but that is for Apple's backup use case. I'm talking about something for everyone. I'm sure that you'll be buying something of this type in the next year or so.
