| Home : July 03 2013 Computer News : Review: The Patriot Aero streams media without wires—not even a power cable |
|
Review: The Patriot Aero streams media without wires—not even a power cable |
July 03, 2013
Like its Seagate Wireless Plus and Corsair Voyager Air competition, the Patriot Aero is by all appearances a simple, if somewhat large, 2.5-inch external USB 3.0 hard drive. The only clue that it’s also a wireless multimedia streamer is the Wi-Fi indicator light. With apps for Android and iOS, you can easily access the Aero’s content from the majority of portable devices, but it has no DLNA server on board to ease access for those people who are using other platforms.
Hardware and features
When you plug the Aero into a USB port, its Wi-Fi shuts off so that the unit can charge and serve as direct-attached storage (in other words, like a normal USB hard drive). When you remove it from the USB port, Wi-Fi automatically turns on. The Aero also has an AC jack and a mini power-to-USB cable, which you’ll need to use to keep the unit streaming and charging from a USB port. A battery meter on the Aero’s side lights up when you press the accompanying button.
ROBERT CARDINThe Patriot Aero is a wireless hard drive with a USB 3.0 interface.
The Aero creates its own network (10.10.10.x), and also connects to another wireless network to provide Internet pass-through. Sweet. But in my tests it took its time configuring this arrangement. Patriot says that everything should show up within 30 seconds. For me, the device took nearly 5 minutes before it was ready to access again.
Patriot supplies client apps for both Android and iOS, but not Windows Phone. And it has no DLNA server to feed Windows Media Player, iTunes, XBMC, or the like. Instead you’re forced to use Explorer to reach the drive at \10.10.10.254 and treat it as direct-attached storage.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043515/review-the-patriot-aero-streams-media-without-wires-not-even-a-power-cable.html#tk.rss_reviews
|
|
|
|
|
