This column usually concerns itself with software, but a little device I bought recently is worthy of mention.
How can you get those videos and photos off an iPad and onto a Mac so they can be edited? Finally, I figured it out. Rather, SanDisk figured it out.
The device is called the SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive, and even at a steep $100, it solved the problem.
The device, smaller than a thin pad of Post-It notes, has many great features and one shortcoming.
A wireless device, it sets up a Wi-Fi network. After a free application is installed on an Apple or Android device, the Wireless Media Drive allows you to upload movies, for example, onto the drive. Then they can be viewed on up to five other iPhones, tablets and even on a PC’s hard drive.
Up to five wireless devices, except for the PC, can be connected to the drive, which means that when you are flying cross-country, each member of a family of five can have access to different movies, photos, music or even data files.
The media drive’s network, which can be secured like any other wireless network, holds a charge for up to eight hours.
It charges through its USB cable either by connecting it to a PC or with the wall charger, which is thicker than the drive itself.
The drive is simple enough to use. You choose which videos, photos, music or other files you want to upload from your iPad or other portable wireless device to the media drive.
It’s fairly fast, too; I was able to upload and download movie snippets in less than 10 seconds each. The movies were then stored on the media drive.
The drive comes in two storage capacities: 32 gigs, which costs $80, and 64 gigs, at $100. The drive also has a slot for an SD card, which means storage for big files is pretty much limitless.
Now for the one drawback. Even if your PC can see the Media Drive network, it can’t connect to it. To get files off it, you have to plug it in via a USB cable, and drag them onto your desktop or a folder. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s an extra step in an otherwise fluid design.
When you want to entertain your family and friends, all of whom have different tastes and needs, or if you just want to pull files from another portable wireless device, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive will do the trick.
Glicken is a retired newspaper editor and software enthusiast. He can be reached at noah436@gmail.com.
“Telegraph-Herald (Dubuque, IA)”