Expert’s Rating
Pros
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Our Verdict
With thenew iPad’sRetina presentation , developers will be able-bodied to make apps that have more of a visual impact . However , apps that support higher - detailed graphics may end up occupying more storage blank . If you bought a new 16 GB iPad ( like me ) , and are going to prep your iPad for a farseeing trip , you may find yourself running short on storage .
iCloud is there to facilitate and you may swear on other online repositing table service , but perhaps you do n’t require to have to bet on an cyberspace connection . You could consider an international depot machine for your iPad , such as Kingston’sWi - effort .
The Wi - Drive is a modest flash driving force , available in 16 GB ( $ 77 ) or 32 GB ( $ 139 ) capacities . Roughly the same size as an iPhone 4 , the Wi - Drive can be well stashed in your sack or bag . You ’ll need to bring a USB cable ( included ) to join it to a Mac and reassign files from the computer , and to charge the Wi - Drive ’s barrage .
When watching videos in the Wi-Drive app, the video streams from the drive to your iOS device. (Screenshot from the iPad version of the Wi-Drive app.)
To load files on the Wi - Drive , you connect it to your Mac via USB . When you connect the drive , two storage machine appear on your Mac ’s desktop : the drive , and , confusingly , what come along to be a compact disc - ROM . This is expected behaviour , according to the printed user ’s template that is roll up with the Wi - Drive ( thedigital manualdoesn’t cover the CD - ROM ) . Also , several files were already on the Wi - Drive itself ( include an autorun.inf file and a config pamphlet ) and were not note by either the user ’s guide or the digital manual . These files are for Windows , and delete these file did n’t affect how the Wi - Drive worked with my Mac or iPad . I also ignored the data file on the CD - read-only storage volume .
The driving itself is arrange using FAT32 , so both Macs and Windows can take and spell to it . If you reformat the drive , you must reformat it using FAT32 , or you wo n’t be capable to see your file .
you may hale copy files over to the Wi - Drive ; the digital manual suggests sorting the Indian file into folders , such as My Music or My Pictures . While the drive can store any filing cabinet type , the Wi - driving force Io app ( which I ’ll cover in a moment ) affirm AAC , MP3 , and WAV audio file ; M4V , MP4 , and MOV video file ; BMP , JPEG / JPG , and PNG persona filing cabinet ; and PDF , Word ( .doc and .docx ) , PowerPoint ( .ppt and .pptx ) , Excel ( .xls and .xlsx ) , schoolbook , and full-bodied text format documents .
The Wi-Drive can be used to extend the range of your router. (Screenshot from the iPhone version of the Wi-Drive app.)
When you ’re done copying Indian file to the Wi - Drive , you must disconnect it from your Mac before your iOS devices can get at it . You also need to add the free Wi - Drive app on your iPhone , iPod trace , or iPad .
As its name imply , the Wi - Drive is fit with 802.11g / n wireless technology , which is used by your iOS gadget to connect to the private road . Kingston says the movement has a 30 - pes range ; I had no problems get in touch and streaming videos from within 30 feet . I also had no trouble from as far as 50 feet , as well as when the Wi - Drive and my iPad were in dissimilar rooms .
To plug in to the Wi - Drive , you go into your iOS equipment ’s Wi - Fi scene and come up the Wi - Drive as an usable web . By default , when you connect to the Wi - Drive , you wo n’t have cyberspace access . However , the Wi - Drive can be arrange up so that it fundamentally act as a Wi - Fi extender of your router — in the Wi - driveway iOS app options , you set the Wi - Drive to connect to an usable web . Once this is congeal , you may get at the Internet as well as the drive . This worked without a halt on the private networks I used with the Wi - Drive . This feature did n’t lick when I tried to link up to a public AT&T Wi - Fi mesh at a duo of different Starbucks locations .
You can send files from the Wi-Drive as email attachments as long as the file is under 10MB. (Screenshot from the iPad version of the Wi-Drive app.)
All file cabinet access code is done through the Wi - Drive Io app . The user interface of the Wi - Drive app is not complicated at all . For example , wiretap on a movie , and it start fiddle in the Wi - Drive app , and you may set the TV to fill the screen . When you watch video or listen to audio , the media streams smoothly to your iOS machine . Files adulterate quickly so I was able-bodied to see a telecasting also instantly , and I never experienced any stuttering or lag .
If you have a set of photos on the private road , the Wi - Drive app displays a set of thumbnail , and you could tap each thumbnail to see a larger image . The Wi - Drive app has a helpful slideshow feature with five different transitions you may use .
There ’s one major restriction to the Wi - Drive : Files on the drive can only be get at through the Wi - Drive app . you could transpose files from the Wi - Drive so that the file resides on your iOS gimmick , but there ’s no way to , say , move a video from the Wi - Drive into Video in iOS so it can be used in iMovie for iOS , or transfer a photo from the Wi - Drive to Photos in Io so it can be edit out in iPhoto or used in Keynote . ( You also ca n’t move a single file from your iOS gimmick to the Wi - Drive . )
There is a workaround to this limit . you’re able to email single file smaller than 10 MB from within the Wi - Drive app , so you’re able to email a Indian file to yourself , and when you checker your chain mail , you’re able to salve the attachment in the appropriate location on your iOS twist . It ’s not the optimal elbow room , but it works in a pinch — for object lesson , you ’re on a stage business misstep and an figure you need for a Keynote presentment is on the Wi - Drive .
allot to Kingston , the rechargeable stamp battery should last about four hour . After watchingThe Wrestler(109 minute ) and doing an extra 45 minutes ’ worth of exposure browsing , file transferral , and poking around in the Wi - Drive app to get familiar with its options and features , the Wi - Drive ’s battery condition brightness level flashed orange tree , indicating that between 25 and 50 percent of battery life was left . The position light flashed loss when less that 25 percent of battery life remains , and immature when the battery is over 51 percent .
Macworld’s buying advice
Kingston ’s Wi - Drive is a nice companion for your iOS equipment , particularly if you are on a long trip and you ’re timid about Internet admission while on the road . The Indian file transfer restriction may be frustrative for people who are using the iPad for content creation , but it works well for substance consumption .
[ Roman Loyola is a Macworld senior editor program . ]
