PREVIEW: Seagate GoFlex Satellite adds 500GB of wireless, mobile storage to your iPad
It’s no easy task, but Seagate have been trying damn hard recently to make storage a little bit more sexy than we’re used to seeing. We recently reviewed the super-svelte GoFlex Slim portable hard drive,and today Seagate return with the GoFlex Satellite, a wireless drive designed specifically with mobile devices in mind.
A 500GB drive, the idea here is to be able to carry your entire media library on the go with you. Through a built in Wi-Fi connection, the Satellite allows any device with Wi-Fi connectivity and a web browser to access files stored on it, streaming the data from the drive to the tablet or other media player wherever you go.
Housing a Lithium-ion rechargeable battery, you’ll get 5 hours of continuous streaming playback from the Satellite, or 25 in standby mode making it the perfect travel companion. You’ll also be able to squeeze a little more life out of the battery by using the drive to download files too, streaming video to the point where the transfer is completed and then entering standby mode and seamlessly switching to the locally stored copy.
“The average person has between 80 and 100GB of files on their computer”, said Seagate’s Greg Falgiano.
“Tablets have between 16GB and 64GB on average, meaning users are having to pick and choose the content they’re going to load onto the devices. As a result, large video files are usually the last thing people load onto mobile devices. So we’re really targeting those people who want to watch video on the great mobile displays they’ve now got but need that extra bit of storage space, paired with the flexibility a Wi-Fi connection offers.”
Three Wi-Fi devices can stream content from the drive at once, with iOS devices such as iPads and iPhones given further functionality through the GoFlex Media app, which also adds much-needed file browser support for the tablet. Android apps are also planned for the future, as well as DLNA compatibility.
As a mobile drive (120mm H x 88mm W x 32mm D), Segate have worked hard at making the Satellite fairly rugged. A 2.5′ drive running at 5400 RPM, the device also features an accelerometer and a special bearing that react in tandem to bumps and drops, should your fingers be of the buttered variety. Segate haven’t gone too crazy with digital security methods, only employing WPA standards, but as this device is designed primarily with media files in mind, they’re banking on you not using the Satellite for moving around particularly sensitive files.
Launching in the States today, the GoFlex Satellite ships with an RRP of $199. Due worldwide by August, it’s expected to hit UK stores for a price of around £169.
For more info, click here.
