Ahead of the 2017 PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York, GNARBOX has announced a new model of their rugged all-in-one editing and storage device, known simply as the GNARBOX 256, that aims to replace your laptop on back-country trips (or anyplace else that you want to carry less gear). GNARBOX is a unique piece of hardware with built-in storage and an Intel quad-core processor and Wi-Fi connection so that you can edit your photos and videos directly from your phone using the GNARBOX’s processing power. Additionally, GNARBOX has been working with Adobe to integrate the device with Lightroom mobile, so you can now use the editing power of Lightroom from your phone or tablet without filling up its internal storage.
Though similar in size to an external hard-drive, the GNARBOX has no mechanical hard-drive inside. Instead, it holds 256GB of 3D NAND flash memory with no moving parts. Weather-sealed side doors open to reveal SD and Micro-SD card slots, along with two full size USB ports and a third micro-USB/USB3 port. These can be used to connect to card readers, external hard drives, and of course, computers.
This makes the GNARBOX very flexible; if 256GB of storage isn’t enough for your large video files, you can transfer your files through the GNARBOX directly to an external hard-drive or SSD, even if you need to plug in a compact-flash card reader at the same time.
First Impressions
We’ll be publishing a comprehensive review of the GNARBOX in the future, but after a couple of days of looking it over, I’m impressed.
The device is quick and easy to set up. Power it on, download the app, connect the phone to the GNARBOX’s Wi-Fi hotspot, and you’re ready to go. There’s a tutorial video and some practice content pre-loaded onto the drive that makes it quick and easy to learn how to use the app, though for me, the pace of the video editing section was a bit fast. Still, within 5 minutes of opening the app, I was able to import photos and edit basic videos with ease. Unfortunately, I was not able to connect to the GNARBOX with Lightroom, yet.
Price & Availability
The new GNARBOX 256 will cost $399 through Amazon, B&H, and Adorama, along with select dealers across the country. Shipping of the new model should begin today, October 18th, and the existing 128GB model will still be available for $299.
