SanDisk unveils wireless flash drives that hold up to 64GB

Computerworld - SanDisk today announced a line of wireless flash drives that can store up to 64GB of data.

The new drives include the Connect Wireless Flash Drive -- a thumb drive -- and the Connect Wireless Media Drive, a larger, but still pocket-sized storage device. The Connect Wireless Flash Drive comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities; the Connect Wireless Media Drive comes in 32GB and 64GB capacities.

The Connect Wireless Flash drive is 3.07-in. x 1.04-in. x 0.54-in. The Connect Wireless Media Drive is 2.6-in. x 2.6-in. x 0.52-in.

The Connect Wireless drive family allows users to not only store but share and stream files across multiple mobile devices. They offer up to eight simultaneous device connections and three media streams, and support separate streams of 720p video content at 2MB/sec to three or five devices concurrently (for the Flash Drive and Media Drive, respectively).

According to a SanDisk spokesman, video streaming performance isn't affected by multiple streams because device limits are set at a point that supports the streams without degradation. Devices can connect to the drives up to 150 feet away.

The Connect Wireless drives work with all iOS and Android devices, and Kindle Fire tablets, as well as PC and Mac computers. The drives are compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Mac OS 10.6 or higher

Movies, music, photos and documents can be loaded onto the wireless drives by simply dragging and dropping the files, which can then be accessed via the SanDisk Connect apps. Those apps are available for download from the App Store, Google Play Store and the Amazon Appstore for Android.

The drives contain an internal router, so no external router or Internet connection is needed to stream media. In order to use the drives, mobile device users simply download SanDisk's Connect App.

The drives run on lithium-ion batteries. A single charge provides up to four hours of wireless streaming, with streaming data protected by Wi-Fi Password Protection (WPA2).

"With the new SanDisk Connect product line, we're raising the bar on what consumers can expect from personal storage," said Dinesh Bahal, vice president for product marketing for SanDisk. "We combined the portability of small flash memory storage devices with the convenience of wireless streaming and sharing functionality."

According to SanDisk, the Connect Wireless Flash Drive is the smallest wireless USB flash drive available on the market today. Users can simultaneously access photos, movies, music and documents on their drive from multiple devices around the house or while mobile.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive is being pitched as a device for mobile entertainment storage. Users can use it to transport and view content such as high-definition movies, videos, music and photos.

While larger than SanDisk's Wireless Flash Drive, the Wireless Media Drive is still a pocket-sized device designed for portability, and offers up to eight continuous streaming hours on a single charge. The drive comes with SDHC/SDXC memory card slots, which allows users to store or share more content, or view photos on a mobile device from a camera's memory card. The media drive wirelessly connects up to eight mobile devices and can stream up to five different HD movies at once.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive is available in 16GB or 32GB capacities for $49.99 and $59.99, respectively. In the U.S., it is available for preorder on Amazon.com, Newegg.com and Micro Center, with availability at Best Buy starting in August. It will also be available for preorder on Amazon.com in Germany and UK.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive has a retail price of $79.99 for 32GB or $99.99 for 64GB storage capacity. It is available for preorder in the U.S. on Amazon.com, with availability in Germany and UK in the fourth quarter of 2013.

This article, SanDisk unveils wireless flash drives that hold up to 64GB, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at  @lucasmearian or subscribe to Lucas's RSS feed . His e-mail address is lmearian@computerworld.com.

See more by Lucas Mearian on Computerworld.com.

Read more about Storage Hardware in Computerworld's Storage Hardware Topic Center.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

Read now.

View the original article here

Amped Wireless High Power 600mW Compact Wi-Fi Range Extender (REC10)

Pros Capable coverage at long distances. Easy setup. Advanced features. Has 10/100 Ethernet port.

Cons Not the best coverage tested among extenders tested. No Gigabit Ethernet. Bottom Line Amped Wireless' High Power 600mW Compact Wi-Fi Range Extender (REC10) does a good job extending a Wi-Fi network and is a most feature-rich range extender/signal boosters. It's advanced capabilities go beyond what the typical wireless extender offers, making this signal booster more intriguing for power users.

By Samara Lynn

Amped Wireless is not as well known a wireless device manufacturer as D-Link or Netgear, but the company continues to put out some impressive consumer networking hardware. Not everything we test from Amped Wireless is a hit, but we are increasingly seeing excellent offerings, such as this Amped Wireless High Power 600mW Compact Wi-Fi Range Extender (REC10).

The wireless signal booster did not extend a signal quite as far in testing as our current Editors' Choice, D-Link's Wireless Range Extender DAP-1320. However, the REC10 did a good job extending a Wi-Fi network and is one of the most feature-rich range extender/signal boosters we've tested. These advanced capabilities go beyond what your typical wireless extender offers, making this signal booster more intriguing for power users.

Specs
The REC10 is a single-band extender (it only extends the 2.4 GHz band, as do most extenders, since the 2.4 band is capable of longer range), and it supports up to a theoretical 300 Mbps transmit/receive rate. This compact extender plugs right into an electrical outlet. It's got that same kind of plug-in design as D-Link's DAP-1320. The REC10 is a bit flatter than the DAP-1320 and sits more flush against a wall or outlet plate because it's thinner, measuring 2.75 by 4 by 1 inches (HWD).

The device has dual 600mW amplifiers to help boost a Wi-Fi signal. There is also a detachable high-gain 2dBi antenna which screws to the top. Inside is yet another high-gain antenna. The vendor's specifications state that the REC10 can cover up to 6500 square feet.

One hardware feature the REC10 has that D-Link's extender lacks is an Ethernet port. This can be  also add bridging functionality to the extender, for attaching a device like a server or a printer. That port alone may be enough to make you choose the REC10 over the DAP-1320. My only issue is that it's only Fast Ethernet with 10/100 speeds and not Gigabit Ethernet, which is the standard these days.

At the bottom of the REC10 are WPS and reset button. The device supports Windows wireless printing, HP AirPlay, and Apple AirPrint Home Sharing so it can be used in mixed Apple and Windows networks. 

Setup
The REC10 ships with a setup guide and a CD that contains a user manual and an installation video. Amped Wireless does a good job with all the products I've tested in providing clear and detailed setup instructions.

The setup guide first recommends placing the extender midway between your router and the area your wireless clients starts to lose connectivity. Once you plug the device into an outlet, the Amped Wireless logo on the front glows white.

After it's plugged in, you simply connect to the default, unsecured SSID the extender is already configured with, "Amped_REC10." Then, fire up a browser to setup.ampedwireless.com to configure the extender. Again, Amped Wireless does a fine job with consistency in setup across its product line. The setup process is essentially the same no matter which product you install: a booster, router, bridge … and so on.  The documentation does caution you to use Chrome, Safari, or IE (8 and later) for the browser-based setup and not Firefox.

I tested the REC10's ability to extend a Western Digital My Net 900 router's wireless network. It's important that these extenders work with third-party networking equipment; otherwise they are not of much value. Few consumers have only one vendor's networking equipment deployed throughout their home networks. The REC10 worked well with the Western Digital router.

The browser-based setup opens to the Dashboard. This is a central console where you can configure the extender and view status information. To extend a wireless network, click the Scan button.  A list of all wireless networks in range appears within the Dashboard. These networks are displayed by SSID, channel, 802.11x level, security and encryption type, and signal strength.

You then select the network you want to extend by clicking a radio button next to each network listed. This starts a wizard that walks a user through extending a network. You're then prompted to click Next. If your network has a security passphrase, you have to enter it on this screen. Click Next again and the following screen allows you to clone settings from your wireless network, such as SSID and security, with a button click.  You can keep a separate SSID and security set just for the extender. Most users will want to clone. When you clone, the SSID for the extender is given the same SSID as the network you are connecting it to, except "RE" is appended at the end of the extender's SSID.

The last step, as in most of the Amped Wireless devices I test, is to apply settings which took 149 seconds in my testing. Amped Wireless devices tend to have long settings change and reboot times. Comparable devices can often apply the same changes in under 60 seconds, so the REC10's reboot is a bit lengthy.

After the network is extended, the client used for setup is disconnected from the wireless network. I like that the software has an on-screen message indicating the connection drop and also the fact that there is a  drop-down menu within the interface that shows you how to reconnect based on your device's operating system.

View the original article here

SanDisk unveils wireless flash drives that hold up to 64GB

Computerworld - SanDisk today announced a line of wireless flash drives that can store up to 64GB of data.

The new drives include the Connect Wireless Flash Drive -- a thumb drive -- and the Connect Wireless Media Drive, a larger, but still pocket-sized storage device. The Connect Wireless Flash Drive comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities; the Connect Wireless Media Drive comes in 32GB and 64GB capacities.

The Connect Wireless Flash drive is 3.07-in. x 1.04-in. x 0.54-in. The Connect Wireless Media Drive is 2.6-in. x 2.6-in. x 0.52-in.

The Connect Wireless drive family allows users to not only store but share and stream files across multiple mobile devices. They offer up to eight simultaneous device connections and three media streams, and support separate streams of 720p video content at 2MB/sec to three or five devices concurrently (for the Flash Drive and Media Drive, respectively).

According to a SanDisk spokesman, video streaming performance isn't affected by multiple streams because device limits are set at a point that supports the streams without degradation. Devices can connect to the drives up to 150 feet away.

The Connect Wireless drives work with all iOS and Android devices, and Kindle Fire tablets, as well as PC and Mac computers. The drives are compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Mac OS 10.6 or higher

Movies, music, photos and documents can be loaded onto the wireless drives by simply dragging and dropping the files, which can then be accessed via the SanDisk Connect apps. Those apps are available for download from the App Store, Google Play Store and the Amazon Appstore for Android.

The drives contain an internal router, so no external router or Internet connection is needed to stream media. In order to use the drives, mobile device users simply download SanDisk's Connect App.

The drives run on lithium-ion batteries. A single charge provides up to four hours of wireless streaming, with streaming data protected by Wi-Fi Password Protection (WPA2).

"With the new SanDisk Connect product line, we're raising the bar on what consumers can expect from personal storage," said Dinesh Bahal, vice president for product marketing for SanDisk. "We combined the portability of small flash memory storage devices with the convenience of wireless streaming and sharing functionality."

According to SanDisk, the Connect Wireless Flash Drive is the smallest wireless USB flash drive available on the market today. Users can simultaneously access photos, movies, music and documents on their drive from multiple devices around the house or while mobile.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive is being pitched as a device for mobile entertainment storage. Users can use it to transport and view content such as high-definition movies, videos, music and photos.

While larger than SanDisk's Wireless Flash Drive, the Wireless Media Drive is still a pocket-sized device designed for portability, and offers up to eight continuous streaming hours on a single charge. The drive comes with SDHC/SDXC memory card slots, which allows users to store or share more content, or view photos on a mobile device from a camera's memory card. The media drive wirelessly connects up to eight mobile devices and can stream up to five different HD movies at once.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive is available in 16GB or 32GB capacities for $49.99 and $59.99, respectively. In the U.S., it is available for preorder on Amazon.com, Newegg.com and Micro Center, with availability at Best Buy starting in August. It will also be available for preorder on Amazon.com in Germany and UK.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive has a retail price of $79.99 for 32GB or $99.99 for 64GB storage capacity. It is available for preorder in the U.S. on Amazon.com, with availability in Germany and UK in the fourth quarter of 2013.

This article, SanDisk unveils wireless flash drives that hold up to 64GB, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at  @lucasmearian or subscribe to Lucas's RSS feed . His e-mail address is lmearian@computerworld.com.

See more by Lucas Mearian on Computerworld.com.

Read more about Storage Hardware in Computerworld's Storage Hardware Topic Center.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

Read now.

View the original article here

SanDisk unveils wireless flash drives that hold up to 64GB

Computerworld - SanDisk today announced a line of wireless flash drives that can store up to 64GB of data.

The new drives include the Connect Wireless Flash Drive -- a thumb drive -- and the Connect Wireless Media Drive, a larger, but still pocket-sized storage device. The Connect Wireless Flash Drive comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities; the Connect Wireless Media Drive comes in 32GB and 64GB capacities.

The Connect Wireless Flash drive is 3.07-in. x 1.04-in. x 0.54-in. The Connect Wireless Media Drive is 2.6-in. x 2.6-in. x 0.52-in.

The Connect Wireless drive family allows users to not only store but share and stream files across multiple mobile devices. They offer up to eight simultaneous device connections and three media streams, and support separate streams of 720p video content at 2MB/sec to three or five devices concurrently (for the Flash Drive and Media Drive, respectively).

According to a SanDisk spokesman, video streaming performance isn't affected by multiple streams because device limits are set at a point that supports the streams without degradation. Devices can connect to the drives up to 150 feet away.

The Connect Wireless drives work with all iOS and Android devices, and Kindle Fire tablets, as well as PC and Mac computers. The drives are compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Mac OS 10.6 or higher

Movies, music, photos and documents can be loaded onto the wireless drives by simply dragging and dropping the files, which can then be accessed via the SanDisk Connect apps. Those apps are available for download from the App Store, Google Play Store and the Amazon Appstore for Android.

The drives contain an internal router, so no external router or Internet connection is needed to stream media. In order to use the drives, mobile device users simply download SanDisk's Connect App.

The drives run on lithium-ion batteries. A single charge provides up to four hours of wireless streaming, with streaming data protected by Wi-Fi Password Protection (WPA2).

"With the new SanDisk Connect product line, we're raising the bar on what consumers can expect from personal storage," said Dinesh Bahal, vice president for product marketing for SanDisk. "We combined the portability of small flash memory storage devices with the convenience of wireless streaming and sharing functionality."

According to SanDisk, the Connect Wireless Flash Drive is the smallest wireless USB flash drive available on the market today. Users can simultaneously access photos, movies, music and documents on their drive from multiple devices around the house or while mobile.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive is being pitched as a device for mobile entertainment storage. Users can use it to transport and view content such as high-definition movies, videos, music and photos.

While larger than SanDisk's Wireless Flash Drive, the Wireless Media Drive is still a pocket-sized device designed for portability, and offers up to eight continuous streaming hours on a single charge. The drive comes with SDHC/SDXC memory card slots, which allows users to store or share more content, or view photos on a mobile device from a camera's memory card. The media drive wirelessly connects up to eight mobile devices and can stream up to five different HD movies at once.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive is available in 16GB or 32GB capacities for $49.99 and $59.99, respectively. In the U.S., it is available for preorder on Amazon.com, Newegg.com and Micro Center, with availability at Best Buy starting in August. It will also be available for preorder on Amazon.com in Germany and UK.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive has a retail price of $79.99 for 32GB or $99.99 for 64GB storage capacity. It is available for preorder in the U.S. on Amazon.com, with availability in Germany and UK in the fourth quarter of 2013.

This article, SanDisk unveils wireless flash drives that hold up to 64GB, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at  @lucasmearian or subscribe to Lucas's RSS feed . His e-mail address is lmearian@computerworld.com.

See more by Lucas Mearian on Computerworld.com.

Read more about Storage Hardware in Computerworld's Storage Hardware Topic Center.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

Read now.

View the original article here