An interesting time has come: almost all devices are equipped with a Wi-Fi module, the Internet is almost everywhere, and smartphones and tablets are increasingly produced without the support of memory cards. When on the way, you would like to watch your favorite TV series, but there is enough memory in the device for only a few series, and the available Internet is either too expensive or very slow.
However, it is possible to have more memory in a mobile device without wires and heavy drives. An available solution is SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive.
The device is a small square box:
- Dimensions: 65 x 65 x 13,5 mm
- Weight: 79 grams.
As the name implies, it is a wireless drive for media files. The amount of internal flash memory is 32/64 GB, connection is provided by Wi-Fi b/g/n and USB 2.0. SanDisk is powered by its own battery.
If the built-in memory is not enough, do not get desperate: a flash drive can be attached to the Media Drive, and its size can vary up to 192 GB.
The main purpose of Connect Wireless Media Drive is streaming photos, videos, and music.
The device solves the problem perfectly well: SanDisk can connect up to 8 devices at once, and HD-streaming works simultaneously for the five of them. The claimed battery life is 8 hours of watching HD-video. When only one iPhone 5 is connected, the battery will last for more than 10 hours; with two smartphones it will work a little less, but not dramatically.
The control is maintained through mobile apps for Android, iOS or Kindle.
Device content is automatically divided into 4 categories:
- photos
- video
- music
- files
No matter where the file is copied to, it will always be available in the appropriate category. The situation is similar when connected to the flash card: the necessary category will be available in a few seconds.
Of course, the application can be used to configure all options, including Wi-Fi, making an open access point, or, conversely, closing it for unauthorized devices.
It is important to note that the file format must be supported by default by the device that receives streaming.
Unfortunately, SanDisk will not perform USB streaming while charging because the device automatically switches to the external memory mode.
The price of SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive is $79.99 for the version with 32 GB of memory and $99.99 for the version with 64 GB.
