Six Battery-Powered Wireless Storage Devices, Reviewed

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Would you like a device capable of functioning as USB-based storage, a Wi-Fi hotspot, an archive for your media, a streaming server, and a rechargeable battery? The six devices in this round-up are versatile, including a combination of those features.

PQI Air Drive

PQI's Air Drive is basically a less feature-rich version of the Air Bank. For starters, its USB interface is limited to second-gen signaling rates. That's reflected in its lower transfer speeds (21 MB/s). There is no internal hard drive either, but rather the Air Bank sports a slot for SD and SDHC cards up to 32 GB in size. Even its battery is smaller. PQI claims you'll get up to five hours of operation, compared to the Air Bank's eight hours. If you have a tendency of forgetting your USB cable, at least you'll appreciate the Air Drive's non-removable USB connector.

The Air Bank and Air Drive do share support for Wi-Fi connectivity through an 802.11b/g/n controller though, accommodating up five simultaneous connections. Again, SMB isn't an option, so we had to determine performance manually. The Air Drive clocked in at 3.8 MB/s for reads and 3.3 MB/s for writes, similar to the Air Bank. The two products also utilize the same app, which we don't consider very user-friendly.

PQI's Air Drive is a less feature-rich version of the Air Bank. There is no internal hard drive, but there is a slot for SD and SDHC cards up to 32 GB in size. Even its battery is smaller. PQI claims you'll get up to five hours of operation. It includes support for Wi-Fi connectivity through an 802.11b/g/n controller though, accommodating up five simultaneous connections.

The Air Drive does not offer an Internet pass-through mode. While your client device is connected to it, you forgo online access.

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Manuel Masiero
9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • blackmagnum
    All these devices are undeniably beneficial but their functions already built into modern smart phones and tablets so they are somewhat redundant.
    Reply
  • Snipergod87
    I have never seen the point of these devices.
    Reply
  • wffurr
    I don't get the point of using them as a wifi hotspot when connected to wired ethernet. I haven't had access to a wired network without a wifi access point at any point in the last ten years.

    I can see the utility of the wifi hardware for peer-to-peer connections ala AirDrop, but I didn't see that mentioned as a feature on these.
    Reply
  • Bernie Fresh
    As an owner of a non-reviewed Adata Dashdrive Air ae800, and avid adult film collector. I think of this these products as the modern version of the closet "shoebox". Have something to hide, but still want to use? company computer? wife's laptop? Just a quick flick of the wrist...and youve got access to all those warm fuzzy ish feelings.
    Buy the 500gb models and wash your hands.
    Reply
  • Traciatim
    Where's the iUSBPort and iUSBport Mini in this test?

    http://www.hypershop.com/HyperDrive/iUSBport/
    Reply
  • PEJUman
    i have the kingston mobilelite, and it's nice device for portable movie hub, with 2 toddlers: 2 ipads, 1 iphone and 2 androids, it simplify my uploading/downloading requirements. Instead of uploading the same file to 5 devices, and wasting 5x the storage by storing the file in each device, I simply upload it to the 64GB SD card.

    very useful for in the car/when traveling, each devices connects automatically, the kids even learned how to find & navigate the apps on their own.

    Then I simply take the device with me when get to the destination (i.e. mall/park/etc), and they can resume watching while eating lunch, resting, etc.

    I think these are aimed at multi-user families.
    Reply
  • Pyree
    13161818 said:
    I have never seen the point of these devices.

    I have a NextAV D100 wifi drive (not reviewed here). I can tell you it is quite handy when you travel. 1. The battery can charge your phone. 2. You can carry a lot of movies and music so you can watch and listen for long trip. 3. Backup photos and videos. The drive I have has a SD card slot and a USB port. The storage of the drive is provided by the SD card you slot into the wifi device. The USB port is where you plug in to charge your phone and where you can plug a HDD so you can backup things from the SD card from your camera or camcorder into a HDD.
    Reply
  • rwinches
    These devices are good if you have a phone or tablet or MS surface that has no SD slot.
    Reply
  • rbagany
    @ Bernie Fresh: dude, TMI... "avid adult film collector", "flick of the wrist", "wash your hands"
    Reply