Since GeekDad first reviewed an Amber smart storage device in 2019 (and even gave away five of them the year before that), we were intrigued by the idea of an all-in-one system for file storage, back-up, syncing, and sharing (Gadget Bits: Amber Wants To Be Your Home Storage, Back-up, Router, and File Sharing Solution, GeekDad, September 9, 2019, Ken Denmead).
The second-generation device, named the Amber X, is everything that the original device was in a substantially smaller, lighter design.
Google Photos meets Dropbox with a little sprinkle of AppleTV.
— Pantas Sutardja, Founder & CEO, LatticeWork
Setup of the Amber X is even easier than before through a Bluetooth connection to the new Amber iX smartphone app, which will let you use the built-in 500GB drive immediately and also help you connect any external storage for keeping all your important files. There is also a desktop version of the app that will allow you to access one or more Amber devices either through your network or the internet as if they were connected locally. The software has four major features:
- Auto-Camera Roll Backup: The Amber iX mobile app can automatically back up your camera roll –you never need to worry again about losing memories if you phone is lost or stolen… or you run out of storage.
- File Sharing: Both the mobile and desktop apps allow you to easily share files with optional permission settings.
- Multi-User Support: Amber X supports multiple user accounts, so you can have private folders for each user in addition to shared “family” folders.
- Auto-Organize: a new feature of the software is automatic organization of your photos (and videos soon) using special on-device artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology. Now searching for specific memories, moments and special places is that much easier.
The tremendous benefit of the Amber platform is much more than just network-accessible storage. Data stored on the Amber device never needs to be hosted on a public cloud, so there are no required monthly subscriptions. Users connect their Amber device to a “personal hybrid cloud” through the AmberCloud system which then allows all files to be accessed from anyware.
Let’s talk double-redundancy: when discussing backups it is often said that there should be three copies: the original, one on-site and a third stored somewhere remote… this way all but the most far-reaching disasters will be unable to affect all copies. If your Amber unit is your backup drive and it was damaged or stolen, Amber has plans to offer complete cloud-based and encrypted backups. Restoring the data would be as simple as applying the encryption key to a new Amber X where the recovery data would be decrypted locally, allowing you to maintain full privacy and control of the data.
All opinions in this review are completely that of the reviewer; an Amber X unit was provided for purposes of the review.
Special Discount for you!
Since GeekDad and GeekMom readers have been part of the Amber journey from the beginning, the they have been incredibly generous and provided a 20% discount! The discount is valid through December 29, 2021.
Order your Amber X from Amazon by clicking here (direct affiliate link) and add the discount/coupon code 20RWGDAD (the discount will be applied at checkout).
