Hewlett-Packard have announced that they will very soon make the HP MediaSmart EX490 available to consumers in the United Kingdom - opening up pre-orders now with a promise that they will be out of the doors tomorrow.

This is great news for European Home Server enthusiasts, but it does beg the question as to why the EX495 won't be released on this side of the Pacfic - perhaps due to the similarities with the StorageWorks X510, which is basically the same model with a new name.

Their UK press release reads:

HP Launches New Home Server with Enhanced Features for PCs and Macs
“The explosion of digital content is attracting a new kind of buyer to the home server space,” said Shaun Hobbs, HP Accessories and Services Category Manager, UK. “This buyer not only wants power and capacity but also ease of use. The new HP MediaSmart Server EX490 delivers on all fronts.”

“The new release of HP MediaSmart Server software and hardware continues HP’s leadership in building compelling functionality on top of the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform,” said Russ Madlener, director, Solutions Marketing, Microsoft. “HP is delivering a true cross-platform product by adding the ability to administer the server from a Mac using Microsoft’s new Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac 2.”

The new video converter automatically converts videos (including unprotected DVDs) into a format that can be played at the home or remotely. Users are able to control how their videos are converted by selecting the device the video will be played on or choose specific video settings using the advanced controls features.

In addition, owners of an iPod touch and iPhone can download a free HP MediaSmart Server iStream application from Apple’s App Store, enabling them to stay connected to their digital media stored on the server. Users can easily access their pictures, listen to their music collection and watch their favourite videos – all streamed directly to their mobile device from their HP MediaSmart Server.

HP MediaSmart Server EX490 features include:

· New HP Media Collector
· New HP Video Converter
· Improved user interface with new web- based home page
· Mac administration, media collections and a new Mac disc recovery feature
· HP Media Streamer
· Server for iTunes
· PC Hard Drive Backup
· Server Backup
· Smart Power Management
· Intel Celeron. Two gigabytes of DRAM
· Expandability: additional drives can be added for up to 7 terabytes internal storage and 17 TB of storage using internal and external drives.

Available from 15th October, the HP MediaSmart Server EX490 will ship with 1TB of hard disk storage space, and weighs in at £429.