Paragon Software Group said on Tuesday that Belkin has licensed its Universal File System Driver (UFSD) technology for upcoming products, starting with networking routers. That means customers purchasing a future Belkin router will be able to access their connected Windows or Mac-formatted USB-based storage solution using an Android, Linux, Windows, Mac, iOS or Firefox OS device.
"Belkin is focused on delivering leading-edge solutions to the consumer market," said Mike Chen, senior director of product management at Belkin. "Paragon UFSD technology enables OS-independence, so everyone can use Belkin networking products to store and access their data from any device."
Many OEMs already use Paragon Software's exFAT/NTFS/HFS+ driver technology in their network appliances and smart devices, as it eradicates the incompatibility issues between NTFS, HFS+ and exFAT file systems, and the numerous popular operating systems on the market. Thus end-users can experience issue-free compatibility between their media centers, digital televisions, set-top boxes, or any digital device with USB, SD, or Micro SD sockets.
Paragon said last month that D-Link signed a licensing agreement to use UFSD technology on select products. Prior to that, Netgear said that it would embed Paragon's NTFS and HFS+ drivers in its latest ReadyNAS storage product line, allowing these solutions to be compatible with all devices and PCs, regardless of their operating system.
As for Belkin, the company didn't offer any details as to when routers with UFSD will be available. "We are excited to partner with Belkin to enable their customers to use any of their smart devices to access their stored multimedia content connected to these next generation routers," said Tom Fedro, president of Paragon Software Group. "As home and work connectivity becomes more and more ubiquitous, user expectations for seamless access to their data anytime anywhere grows as well."
For more information about Paragon's UFSD technology, head here.
