Last year we got with Kingston and had the opportunity to try out and show you guys the
Kingston Wi-Drive.
They had three models at the time, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage options.
Later on they released a 128GB model. The device was small, portable
and offered quite a unique experience. Allowing you to connect 3 devices
at one time to stream video files or music, download and share
documents and a little bit more. All without the need to have an actual
data connection available because the Wi-Drive created its own Wi-Fi
signal.
This year we swung by their booth once again to see what Kingston has
been up to and their plans with the Wi-Drive line. Lucky we did too,
because we got our hands on the new Wi-Drive+ MobileLite Wireless beta
unit. It is most likely going to drop the Wi-Drive+ name just go with
MobileLite Wireless. It is the next evolution in portable storage and
sharing. The basic principle is the same. The MobileLite creates its own
Wi-Fi signal for Android, iOS or PC/Mac to see and access. Android
will have its own app soon where as iOS already has a beta app available
for the new device.
The
MobileLite doesn’t have the locked down internal memory that last years
models did. It now sports a Micro SD card slot, a Standard SD card slot
and a USB port. On the box it states that each card slot can support up
to a 32GB sd card, giving you a total of 64GB of accessible storage.
Of course we tested that theory out with various micro SD card sizes
from 2GB to 32GB. It had no issues seeing any of them and playing a
movie file or loading a document that our device supported for viewing
and working with. In addition to being able to access and stream any of
your files from the unit, the device also acts as a card reader for your
PC. When plugged in to a PC you will have access to each card and the
USB port. This eliminates the need to constantly pull out memory cards
to transfer data to them to use in the device.
The
addition of a USB port opens up a whole new world of possibilities
though. Being able to plug-in a thumb drive is nice and all, but what
about a full on external hard drive? We plugged in a 120GB external hard
drive to the USB port to see if it could shell out that info as well.
Much to our surprise, it pulled the hard drive up and we were able to
access all the files and watch a movie. It had some skipping and pausing
issues on a few occasions, but we weren’t expecting it to be perfect
because the we are still using the old Wi-Drive app. Since the hard
drive will be pulling power to power its self, that will easily shorten
the amount of streaming time or access time you will get while it is
plugged in. Kingston mentions that there is no size limit to what the
USB port can support. So of course I tested it out with my 1TB external
drive that I have connected to my PC. I let the app sit for quite a
while, figuring that it was indexing the files to be viewed or
something. After 20 minutes of waiting and it still not pulling anything
up, I called it quiets. That doesn’t mean that it won’t work though.
The key thing to remember that this is a beta unit and the Android app
that is currently available is not even truly designed to support the
MobieLite Wireless product yet anyways.
In
a home, hotel or traveling situation where a charger is available, you
might be able to keep it alive all day with no issues. We didn’t give
that a shot though. The MobileLite will charge from a PC as well, but
when it is plugged into a PC it disconnects the Wi-Fi portion of the
drive and prevents you from streaming whole connected.
The MobileLite also has one other added benefit built-in. Since it
supports a USB plug, it can also act as a portable battery backup. It
won’t charge your phone from 0 to 100, but it will still give you a
boost if needed.
On a small side note, this is a beta unit and Kingston only has an
official beta app out for iOS, not Android. We were very aware of that
when we first snagged it while talking with a Kingston Engineer. We were
advised that the original Wi-Drive app should work just fine for it,
but that it might pose a few issues. Don’t go basing your thoughts about
this upcoming accessory on a few glitches we had while beta testing.
Pricing and launch details are still a bit scarce. The device is
still in a beta stage and the name could change, the design could change
so could some of its functionality. As it sits right now, they are
aiming for a public release sometime in Q2 of this year. Since the new
device doesn’t have any internal storage, they should be able to keep
the cost down considerably. We expect to see it hit for under $100. Even
at $100 it is well worth the money. The current Wi-Drives are going for
$95 for the 64Gb and $150 for the 128Gb version.
What do you guys think of the new design and new access option? Will
you be holding back some of the tax dollars to pick one up when they
finally hit the streets?
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