QNAP’s Silent HS-251+ NAS Begs To Be Placed In Your TV Stand (Updated)

Most of the NAS units we’ve taken a look at here at Techgage have been “pedestal” form-factors; in effect square or rectangular designs. For the goals a NAS sets out to accomplish, the aesthetics don’t matter too much, but for those who’d like to keep their NAS next to their TV, it does pose a bit of a problem. It’s for that reason that special NASes like QNAP’s just-launched HS-251+ exists. It’s beautiful to look at, and perhaps even more important, 100% silent.

I’d understand it if you thought that because this NAS has no fans, it’s not that powerful, but you’d actually be incorrect. Under the hood of this great-looking device is a quad-core Intel Celeron processor, which has a Turbo speed of 2.42GHz, as well as 2GB of DDR3L memory. That kind of hardware actually makes this NAS more powerful than most units we’ve taken a look at over the past year or two.

The modest form-factor of the HS-251+ sure doesn’t result in less functionality. At the back, four USB ports can be found; two of both 2.0 and 3.0. There’s also dual gigabit Ethernet ports, as well as an HDMI port. The front of the device is completely clean, with a simple green LED in the center to show the unit’s powered-on state.

As you might have suspected, the inclusion of an HDMI port means that this NAS can drive video to a television. QNAP notes that it bundles the popular media center software Kodi for content-serving needs. You can also take advantage of many online services, including of course YouTube. Being a full-blown NAS, you’ll also be able to take advantage of QNAP’s huge repository of add-on apps, and thanks to the included remote, controlling them will be no issue.

QNAP says that its HS-251+ is available now, although I’ve been unable to find it at etail. I’m also not sure about a price, but given the original pricing of the non-plus edition, I’d wager that ~$549 USD would be a safe bet.

Update: QNAP tells us that the HS-251+ will sell for $429 USD.