Known as the Pogoplug, the unit will sell for £99 when it is launched in the UK on February 15 and can support up to four USB drives in tandem.

Interestingly, whilst Cloud Engines is pitching the unit as a means of sharing data with the internet, and transparently via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the device appears to function as a primitive cloud-accessible RAID server, with user reports of hooking four 1.5 terabyte drives a single Pogoplug unit.

This gives a basic RAID capability of six gigabytes and, whilst the resultant data storage assembly does not resemble a traditional RAID unit, it can effectively function as a very basic array, Infosecurity notes.

Unlike traditional cloud storage options, the Pogoplug is under the physical control of the user, an advantage that some users in the US – where the unit was soft launched late last year – have used to their advantage.

Furthermore, because none of the owner's personal data is stored on the Pogoplus-controlled servers – except for the owner's email address – the data on the drives stays remain under complete control of the owner, with the data only being read-accessible via the Pogoplug software into the internet.

According to Cloud Engine, data feeds into the internet are secured using https connections via its servers.

Daniel Putterman, Cloud Engine's CEO, said that reaction to the Pogoplug in the US has been incredible, with word spreading to Europe, resulting in pent-up demand.

"We are happy to announce that we will be making the Pogoplug available in the UK from mid-February, with a roll out to other key European countries in due course", he said.