Best Wireless Storage Device to Increase Storage of Mobile and Tablets
Wireless storage device is a new breed of gadgets which are not that popular at this time. But in the near future these can become an essential companion. If you are following the current trend of mobile and tablets, then you will notice that manufacturers are removing memory card slots. So now you can not just buy a higher capacity memory card to increase space of mobile and tablet. Apple iPhone and iPad never offered any memory expansion option. Now other manufacturers have started following them. Google Nexus series, HTC Droid DNA, One X series, Nokia Lumia mobiles are just a few examples of this. I think there are two main reasons behind it. Firstly manufacturers want to make more money by selling mobile or tablets with higher built-in storage capacity and secondly, they want us to use cloud based storage like Dropbox or Google Drive. Undoubtedly cloud storage has many advantages but it can never replace physical storage as long as wireless internet connections like 3G or 4G don’t offer true unlimited plans and using cloud storage affects battery life.
Wireless storage devices have never been so popular. They are mainly expensive and there are very few devices available on the market. Let’s first discuss about what wireless storages are and how these can help us to overcome the storage limitation of mobile and tablets. Wireless storage devices come with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. Any Wi-Fi equipped devices can connect to it and access all files stored. Media files like movies, music can be streamed directly from the wireless storage device. Some portable wireless storages has built-in battery, so these can be used anywhere. Currently Segate and Kingston are selling some wireless storage devices.
Best Wireless Storage Device:
Seagate GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless Storage
Seagate GoFlex Satellite is a portable wireless hard drive. It is powered by a battery and it has 5 hours battery life and 25 hours standby time. Up to 3 devices (iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet) can stream movies from it simultaneously. Seagate GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage comes with 500GB capacity which is more than enough to store thousands of music albums and hundreds of Full HD movies. Dedicated application is available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices. Any Wi-Fi equipped device can access the files through the browser based file manager. Apart from Wi-Fi connectivity, it supports USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Thunderbolt and Firewire 800. According to some customer reviews Seagate GoFlex Satellite does not have a great battery life, the dedicated application is not user friendly. Seagate GoFlex Satellite 500 GB wireless storage is available on Flipkart for around Rs 12,000 ($220) or you can get it from Amazon for $140.
Kingston Wi-Drive Pocket-sized Portable Storage
If you are looking for more compact portable wireless storage, then Kingston Wi-Drive is the best choice. It is very small and light weight compared to Seagate GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage. Kingston Wi-Drive is available in three different capacities- 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. It is powered by battery and can be used up to 4 hours in a single charge. Just like Seagate GoFlex Satellite, it can stream content to 3 Wi-Fi equipped devices simultaneously. Kingston Wi-Drive can bridge wireless internet connection, so you can access internet while streaming content from Wi-Drive. Dedicated application is available for iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Amazon Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD. There are some drawbacks of Kingston Wi-Drive, which can be a deal breaker for some. It cannot be used while charging and it has maximum file size limitation (4GB max). Kingston Wi-Drive is expensive compared to Seagate GoFlex Satellite.
- Kingston Wi-Drive 16GB MRP $130
- Kingston Wi-Drive 32GB MRP $180
- Kingston Wi-Drive 64GB MRP $230
Amazon is selling it for much lesser price, 16GB for $68, 32GB for $50 and 64GB for $110. While Flipkart has listed 32GB for Rs 5,200 ($95) and 64GB for Rs 5,800 ($106).
I bought a Toshiba 500GB external hard disk right after Thanksgiving. It was a pretty good deal at bestbuy. Those wireless storage devices seems to be pricey now. I believe they are going to be very cheap in the next 2-3 years.