Michal Ždanský Choosing the memory size of an iOS device is probably the most important decision you will make when buying it, however, you do not always estimate your needs correctly and with the growing demands for free space for iOS programs and especially games, you can quickly run out of free space and almost nothing will be left for multimedia.
Some time ago we wrote about flash drive from PhotoFast. Another possible solution might be Kingston's Wi-Drive, which is a portable hard drive with a built-in WiFi transmitter. Thanks to it, it is possible to move files and stream media without having to connect to a Wi-Fi network in your area, as you create your own network with Wi-Drive. Help special application then you can view the files stored on the disk, copy them to the device and run them in other programs.
Processing and contents of the package
There's not much in the neat little box apart from the drive itself, the European version apparently comes without an adapter (at least our test piece didn't). You will find here at least a USB-mini USB cable and a booklet with instructions for use.
The disc itself strikingly and apparently intentionally resembles an iPhone, the round body is divided on the side by elegant gray lines, while the surface of the disc is made of tough plastic. Small pads on the bottom protect the back of the surface from scratches. On the sides of the device you will find a mini USB connector and a button to turn off/on the disc. The trio of LEDs on the front, which are only visible when lit, show whether the device is on and also inform about Wi-Fi status.
The dimensions of the device are quite identical to the iPhone, including the thickness (dimensions 121,5 x 61,8 x 9,8 mm). The weight of the device is also pleasant, which is only 16 g in the case of the 84 GB version. The disk comes in two variants – 16 and 32 GB. As for endurance, the manufacturer promises 4 hours for streaming video. In practice, the duration is about an hour and a quarter longer, which is not a bad result at all.
The Wi-Drive contains a flash drive, so it is without any moving parts, which makes it relatively resistant to shocks and impacts. An unpleasant feature is the relatively large heat that the disk emits during heavy loads, such as video streaming. It won't fry the eggs, but it won't hurt your pocket.
iOS application
In order for Wi-Drive to be able to communicate with an iOS device, a special application is needed, which you can find for free in the App Store. After turning on the device, you need to go to the system Settings and select the Wi-Fi network Wi-Drive, which will connect the device and the application will then find the drive. The first application error has already appeared here. If you start it before connecting, the disk will not be found and you have to close the running application completely (on the multitasking bar) and start it again.
When you connect to a Wi-Fi network, you don't necessarily have to be without the Internet. The mobile internet still works and the Wi-Drive application also allows you to connect to another Wi-Fi network just for the purpose of the internet using bridging. In the application settings, you will get to a similar connection dialog as in the system settings, and then you can easily connect to a home router, for example. The disadvantage of this bridged connection is significantly slower data transfer compared to a direct connection to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Up to 3 different devices can be connected to the drive at the same time, but practically anyone who has the application installed can connect to the drive. For this case, Kingston also enabled network security with a password, encryption from WEP to WPA2 is a matter of course.
The storage in the application is divided into local content and disk content, where you can freely move data between these storages. We tested the transfer speed of a 350 MB video file (1 episode of a 45-minute series). It took time to transfer from the drive to the iPad 2 minutes and 25 seconds. However, during the reverse transfer, the application showed its shortcomings and after about 4 minutes the transfer got stuck in 51%, even during retries.
As for the transfer of data towards the disk, Kingston apparently did not consider this option much, because the application does not even support the ability to open files from other third-party applications. The only way to get data into the application without using a disk is through iTunes. If there is a file on one of the storages that the application does not crack (that is, any non-native iOS format), it can be opened in another application (for example, an AVI file that opens in the Azul application). But again, it cannot be opened in another application if Wi-Drive can handle the file. It's a bit of a stew that the Kingston developers should do something about.
Playing and opening native files is quite trouble-free, the application can handle these files:
- Audio: AAC, MP3, WAV
- Video: m4v, mp4, mov, Motion JPEG (M-JPEG)
- Pictures: jpg, bmp, tiff
- Documents: pdf, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, txt, rtf, xls
When streaming directly from the disc, the application easily coped with a 720p movie in MP4 format without lags. However, video streaming can drain your iOS device quite quickly in addition to Wi-Drive. I therefore recommend that you leave some space on the disk and play the video file directly into the device's memory.
The application itself is quite simply processed, you classically browse folders, while the application can filter out types of multimedia files and display only music, for example. on the iPad, this explorer is placed in the column on the left, and in the right part you can view individual files. Any file up to 10 MB can also be sent by email.
There is a simple player for music files, and even a slideshow with various transitions for photos. An interesting feature of the application is that you can also update the disk firmware through it, which is usually only possible on desktop operating systems.
záver
The very idea of a Wi-Fi drive is interesting to say the least, and it's a great way to get around the limitations of iOS devices, such as the lack of USB Host. While the hardware itself is excellent, the iOS application necessary to communicate with the drive still has significant reserves. It would certainly help if it could also play non-native iOS files, such as AVI or MKV videos. What needs to be addressed, however, is the mishmash of file sharing between applications and the problem of moving larger files to disk.
You pay for the disc 1 799 $ in the case of the 16 GB version, then prepare for the 32 GB version 3 299 $. It's not exactly a dizzying amount, but the price of about 110 CZK/1 GB probably won't excite you, especially at the current prices of regular external drives, regardless of the floods in Asia. However, you cannot use these discs with your iOS devices.
Many would certainly welcome variants with a higher capacity, for example 128 or 256 GB, after all, at these prices it is better to choose the memory size of the iOS device with more discretion. But if you own a device with less memory than you need, Wi-Drive is one of the best current solutions.
We would like to thank the Czech representative office of the company for the loan of the test disc Kingston
