HP has launched two MediaSmart Server products - EX485 and EX487 – to mechanically back up media and other files, with new Mac-specific functionality. Both the new units have 2.0-GHz 64-bit processors of Intel Celeron, and 2GB of 800-MHz DDR2 RAM.

While the EX485 provides 750GB at $599; the EX487 ups the storage to 1.5 TB for $749.

The pre-orders for the device begin January 5, and the delivery is slated for February - the first 200 buyers can use the coupon code ‘AC5674’ and avail a discount of $50.

The HP MediaSmart Server, which is based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform, functions as a central warehouse for documents, photos, videos, and digital music, and from several computers on a home network. The home server has a lot to offer – like, automatic organization of files across all PCs, streaming media across a home network and the Internet, and publishing photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites.

In addition, the second-generation device also has new features, like enhanced processing power and power management.

For users of Mac, the server offers new backup functions. It supports Leopard’s built-in Time Machine software, and also backs up networked PCs by way of the Windows Home Server backup feature. Along with server backups, the device also offers online backup that duplicates designated folders to Amazon’s S3 online backup service at an additional cost.