ET Review: Seagate Wireless Plus

PRICE Rs 16,000 + taxes

SPECIFICATIONS

1TB storage, USB 3.0, built-in battery, 10 hour battery life, free media app for android and iOS, simultaneous multi-device connectivity, 256 grams.

Positive: Lightweight & compact, streams HD videos to multiple devices, fast data transfer.

Negetive: Lower battery life than claimed figure, drive heats up during usage, steep price.

NEW DELHI: Seagate’s second generation wireless hard drive for portable devices — the Wireless Plus — comes with 1TB of storage and a revamped design. Unlike the glossy GoFlex Satellite, this one has a welcome brushed metal finish. There are two LED indicators on top — one for power and the other for Wi-Fi status.

The drive has a removable rear panel with direct access to the SATA connectivity ports — it can be directly connected to a PC motherboard if required. Seagate has provided two back panels in the box — one to cover the port (when using it as a wireless drive) and the other to use it as a regular wired portable hard drive.

Wireless Plus uses the Seagate Media app to connect with an iOS or Android phone or tablet or as a network drive on a computer. The hard drive generates it own Wi-Fi hotspot and your devices have to be connected to it to access its content. You can stream different 720p HD videos to three devices simultaneously and it works without any issues.

With full HD video, the drive was only able to stream to two devices —the third device can connect and access content, but will be unable to play HD videos. For music, photos & document access, we were able to connect six devices to the drive at the same time (Seagate claims support for connection with eight devices simultaneously). The drive does get quite hot after about an hour of HD streaming, so be sure to place it on a table.

Seagate claims 10 hours, but with full HD video we got four hours of use. If you feel limited by your handheld device’s storage, the Wireless Plus could be your answer.

ALSO SEE

Seagate GoFlex Satellite

Specifications: 500GB storage, USB 3.0, built-in battery, 5 hour battery life, Free app for android and iOS, multidevice connectivity, 267g

Price: 9,990