Top 5 Best Wireless Flash Drives – More storage for your tablets and smartphones

Samuel J Tan Hardware, Popular, Storage, Technology 1

Running low on storage space in your iPhone or iPad? Thinking if you should bring your laptop to backup your photos and files for your business or holiday trip to free up your storage for more shots. You need a wireless flash drive for your iPad or iPhone or both.

Most Android tablets let you add a MicroSD card into the expansion slot to carry more data. While getting a flash memory card would seem like a good way to increase the storage on your device, what if you have multiple mobile devices at home i.e. smartphones and tablets? Does it mean that you will need to get one for each of them. What about devices with no SD card expansion?

We reviewed wireless flash card readers and wireless USB hubs with battery on board for portability and connectivity in our earlier article. We also looked at Wireless Portable Hard Drives for those looking for bigger storage capacity while on the move.

Together they represent three different solutions to provides extra storage for your mobile devices be it laptop, smartphone or tablet.

Wireless Portable Hard Drives
Wireless Flash Readers (Portable Media Hub)
Wireless Flash Drives (Covered below)

Here, we look at a quick list of the 5 best portable storage solutions that comes with its own flash storage.

Table of Contents

Why Portable Wireless Flash Drive

The list below shows 5 good reasons to get a portable wireless storage:

Add extra storage space to your mobile device quickly
To backup images and videos captured on your mobile device and free up the storage
Share content easily and on the go; music, movies, TV shows, files and documents.
Easy to carry and store; small, compact and lightweight
Stream to multiple devices

Best Wireless Flash Drives

Our line-up of the best Wireless Flash Drives comes from names such as Toshiba, SanDisk, Kingston Technology, Transcend and Maxwell. Click on the links below for the latest prices.

UPDATE

Maxwell AirStash Expandable 8GB/16GB Wireless Flash Drive
SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick [COMPACT]

A new addition from SanDisk, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick meaures a mere 20.83 x 78.21 x 12.19mm and weighs only 21.76 grams, a truly super compact mobile storage device.

Closer Look

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

1. Toshiba Canvio AeroMobile 128GB Wireless USB3.0 SSD

At 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD), the Toshiba Canvio AeroMobile has one of the biggest capacity in our line-up. In a similar profile to the Kingston Technology WID and Transcend StoreJet, the Toshiba Canvio AeroMobile spots a small smartphone profile. As it is based on SSD, there are no moving parts and can withstand shocks and vibrations. Together with the USB 3.0 interface you are assured of quick data transfer to the SSD when connected via cable for those big files.

What You Need to Know

Profile: USB Flash Storage Disk (USB 3.0) – Small Chocolate Bar
Sizes: 128GB and built-in SD card slot
Connections: up to 8 devices, up to 5 simultaneous media streaming with Internet Pass Thru mode allowing for access to the web and data on Canvio AeroMobile as the same time.
Battery Life: up to 8 hours of wireless streaming per charge, recharge via USB port
Apps Available: Compatible with the following 3rd party apps; for iOS: GoodPlayer, FileExplorer, FileBrowser, GoodReader, nPlayer, PhotoSync, for Android: ES File Explorer and GoodPlayer.
Dimensions and Weight: 123mm x 63mm x 12.5mm thin, 120 grams

2. SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive 32GB/64GB

In durable aluminium housing, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive is the bigger of the two SanDisk products featured here. Being bigger meant it has a bigger battery so last twice as long, supports more simultaneous HD movie streams, up to a maximum of 5 and includes an SD memory card slot for storage expansion using SDHC/SDXC cards.

What You Need to Know

Profile: USB Flash Storage Disk (USB 2.0) – Small Chocolate Bar
Sizes: 32GB, 64GB and built-in SD Card slot
Connections: up to 8 devices, no internet required. up to 5 simultaneous HD media streaming
Battery Life: up to 8 hours of wireless streaming per charge, recharge via USB port
Apps Available: SanDisk Wireless Media Drive App and Web Apps
Dimensions and Weight: 65 mm x 65 mm x 13.5 mm 163 grams

3. Kingston Technology Wi-Drive 32GB/64GB Wireless Drive

The Kingston Technology WiDrive is one of the earliest portable wireless drive in the market. As such, it lacks the battery life that others in this category benefits especially those with a similar profile.

What You Need to Know

Profile: USB Flash Storage Disk (USB 2.0) – Small Chocolate Bar
Sizes: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Connections: up to 3 simultaneous media streaming
Battery Life: up to 4 hours of wireless streaming per charge, recharge via USB port
Apps Available: Wi-Drive for iOS and Android devices

4. Transcend StoreJet Cloud 32GB/64GB/128GB Wireless Multimedia Drive

While it doesn’t have the fast USB3.0 connection enjoyed by the Toshiba Canvio, it comes with a 128GB SSD storage option to match. The Transcend StoreJet Cloud is also one of the early pioneers in this space. The 6 hours battery life is between the 4 and 8 hours mark we have seen with the other devices.

What You Need to Know

Profile: USB Flash Storage Disk (USB 2.0) – Small Chocolate Bar
Sizes: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB
Connections: up to 5 devices, simultaneous media streaming
Battery Life: up to 6 hours of wireless streaming per charge, 8 hours standby, recharge via USB port
Apps Available: StoreJet Cloud with media playback capability for iOS and Android devices
Dimensions and Weight 99mm x 54mm x 16.5mm, 90 grams

5. SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive 16GB/32GB/64GB

The SanDisk Connect is in a familiar USB flash drive form factor. Simply whip the Wireless Flash Drive into any free USB port on your laptop or computer to charge and transfer data. When you are ready to go, take it with you. Access your content from your tablet or smartphones over WiFi using a browser or App.

What You Need to Know

Profile: USB Flash Drive
Sizes: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB with MicroSD slot
Connections: up to 8 devices, no internet required. up to 3 simultaneous media streaming
Battery Life: up to 4 hours of wireless streaming per charge, recharge via USB port
Apps Available: SanDisk Wireless Flash Drive App and Web Apps compatible with iOS and Android devices
Dimensions and weight: 77.96 mm x 26.64 mm x 13.76 mm, 27 grams

Our Line-up

Here is a quick look at our line-up again. For the most up to date prices, please click on the links below:

BONUS: Maxwell AirStash Expandable 8GB/16GB Wireless Flash Drive

It may not have the largest storage, the biggest option being 16GB, but it does have an SD expansion slot that supports extra memory. Sold as a premium wireless flash drive, the AirStash is not cheap. Charge and transfer your content via USB and use it on the move with support for simultaneous cellular Internet and AirStash connectivity (for iOS).

What You Need to Know

Profile: USB Flash Drive (USB 2.0)
Sizes: 8GB/16GB with SD Card slot for expansion and photo backup
Connections: up to 8 devices, no internet required. up to 3 simultaneous media streaming (SD) or 1 HD Stream.
Battery Life: up to 7 hours of wireless streaming per charge, recharge via USB port
Apps Available: AirStash+ for iOS and Android, AirPlay support for iOS, remote battery monitor via apps and built-in web server, media streamer and WebDAV server. Also works over browsers.
Dimensions and Weight: 93 mm x 32 mm x 13 mm, 41 grams.

UPDATE: SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick

No bigger than a thumb drive, the portable mobile storage comes with WiFi, full size USB 2.0 connector and built-in battery. Available in five sizes; 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 200GB, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick offers plenty of choices for storage option. The accompanying app, Connect Drive available for both iOS and Android OS automatically copies photos and videos from your camera roll to the drive when the drive is connected. You can use the app to rename, move and delete files. The app also lets you open docs and PDFs. The device is great for storing large files, stream HD videos, sharing files with the ability to handle up to three simultaneous connections.

What You Need to Know

Profile: USB Flash Drive (2.0)
Sizes: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 200GB
Connections: Stream HD movies and music to up to 3 devices at the same time
Battery Life: Up to 4.5 hours of continuous usage. 2 hours to charge via USB.
App Available: Connect Drive for iOS and Android
Dimensions and Weight: 20.83 x 78.21 x 12.19mm, 21.76 grams

1 Comment

Pip
May 17, 2016 @ 10:02 am
For 2016, this new AirMore FlashDisk (http://airmore.com/flash-disk) is getting more and more attention with its multiple features and great user experience. Maybe one day, it will become a huge hit.