Android Police

Storage space is getting cheaper, whether you're talking about phones or computers. It used to cost astronomical amounts of money to get even 1GB of storage. As storage has become cheaper, files sizes are increasing. A photo taken with the Pixel 2 might be nearly 10MB, and that adds up over time. 4K video? We're talking many gigabytes.That's why many of us have gotten serious about backing up data, and the cloud is only half the equation. You should also have local copies of all your important files, and a network attached storage (NAS) machine is a good way to do it. We've talked about Synology's NAS devices a few times on AP and Rita already reviewed the DS416play. This is a company that takes mobile integration seriously with more than a dozen Android apps that work with its line of DiskStation NAS boxes. That's why we (Ryan, Cody, and Jordan) have been testing the latest generation of DiskStation models to see how they fit into our digital lifestyles. We're overall pretty impressed.

Synology is one of the most well-known makers of NAS boxes, and it has more than a dozen Android apps that plug into these devices. You can add two more apps to the list today with the release of Synology Drive and Synology Moments. They're both free, but they both require Synology packages that aren't available quite yet.

We love Synology's products here, but this latest deal isn't on the company's famous NAS gear but its lesser known routers. Jordan has already reviewed the RT2600ac, one of Synology's two routers, and came away impressed. He called it a beast thanks to its good range, speed, as well as its user-friendly interface and Android app that lets you control priorities and change settings easily from your phone.If you were looking for a router (and you're not swayed by the various mesh options), I'd suggest you check out Jordan's review first and then look at these deals. Both the RT2600ac and its older sibling the RT1900ac are being discounted around $30 on Amazon, Newegg, and B&H.  Here are the links to the deals:

This is one of the most difficult reviews I've had to write to date. I've been using the Synology DS416play for several months, yet everytime I sat down to start writing, I felt overwhelmed by what I should and shouldn't discuss and eventually found myself drifting to work on another simpler and more urgent news article. I love detailed reviews, I enjoy delving deep into every single feature a product offers and discussing its benefits and limitations, as evidenced by the lengthy reviews I've written on Android Police over the years. But if I wanted to do the same for this NAS, I knew I'd end up with 10K+ words at the very least without even scratching the surface of many options. A 300-page book wouldn't cover everything I want to talk about with the DS416play, because it's that feature-filled.So naturally, compromises had to be made. I eventually convinced myself that I'd have to selectively choose from the hundreds of screenshots and notes I've taken over the months and tackle the review from a specific point of view: the Android user. After all, we're on Android Police and it makes sense to focus on what the average Android user would get out of having this personal NAS server. The other limitation is a personal one: it's true that I know about nerdy things more than your average Joe, but I have nowhere near the detailed understanding and expertise of an advanced user. I came to this review with zero previous experience with personal servers and no background whatsoever in networks, NAS servers, and connectivity. I don't know the jargon and I am not very interested in learning it unless it's essential for a feature I'm actively setting up or using.With that preamble out in the open, what do I think of the DS416play? In one word: outstanding. If you're thinking about buying a personal server and you're not easily terrified by having to set a couple of things up and research a few acronyms, then the Synology experience should be very approachable to you. The performance is excellent and the options are mind boggling once you start digging deeper. There's a lot here for more advanced users too, though I wouldn't have the slightest idea if the specs satisfy the super-uber-mega demanding users. I'm sure some of our readers can easily point to a couple of specs and scoff saying they wouldn't touch a server with at least quadruple that number and/or with 3 other missing options. But everyone else probably wouldn't complain.

When Synology approached us with an offer to review a new product, I was thrilled. The company is well-known for its NAS (Network Attached Storage) machines, but the item in question turned out to be a router. Now, I know what you're thinking: a router review from Android Police? As some of you may well know, we do not exclusively handle Android-specific products like phones, tablets, etc. Sometimes, we like to provide all of you with our opinions on other accessories and the like to help improve your experience with your Android devices. Get it?A router is a pretty crucial thing to have in your home, especially for your phone (unless you have unlimited data, but still). But there's a lot more involved than simply picking the cheapest or most expensive one — I mean, you have speeds, frequencies, features, firmware, range, and security to consider. Luckily, the RT2600AC by Synology provides some of the best performance in all of those categories without being needlessly expensive.For lack of a better way to say it, this is one hell of a beast. But I don't want to spoil one of the few router reviews to be featured on Android Police, so let's dive in.

I'm a fan of Synology. I've had their DS416Play DiskStation for a while (review coming) and I never fathomed the idea of having my own "server" but they made the process as simple and fast as possible so that even someone like me, with no background whatsoever in server management, could be up and running in a matter of minutes.

Uploading your files to the cloud might be fashionable these days, but some still like to keep their files, photos, videos, and anything else secure from prying eyes, yet still accessible if they're not at their computer. Synology, a maker of Network Attached Storage devices, which the company calls DiskStations (DS for short), has updated four of its apps; DS photo, DS file, DS note, and MailPlus.

When I say "Synology," the first thing that comes to mind is personal servers, NAS, and lots of cool things you can keep stored on your own "cloud" to access anywhere and without trusting any company with your data. Now Synology is using its expertise in building personal servers and apps to introduce an instant messaging application.

Slowly but surely, the wider Android community is adopting support for Android Auto. Well, maybe support is too strong a word. They definitely don't object to it. And most of them have probably heard about it. They've certainly skimmed over a bit of text mentioning Android Auto in the latest SDK. Maybe. Alright, so Android Auto support isn't quite as robust as it might be, but Synology's NAS music app works with it now! That's nice.

Synology is a Taiwanese company that specializes in hardware and software for network attached storage. It's not particularly known as a security company, but with the American government publicly demanding access to more or less all data on the planet, and other countries and less polite entities taking it without asking, the market is ripe to sell security products to wary consumers. Hence MailPlus, yet another secure and encrypted email system, this time independently hosted from a customer's Synology-branded NAS hardware.