Samsung Wireless: Mobile media streaming gone Android-only
Following Seagate and a few other storage vendors, Samsung announced today its first mobile media streaming device, the Samsung Wireless, a 1.5TB portable drive that comes with a built-in battery, a Wi-Fi network, and an Android mobile app.
If you like a mobile wireless portable drive, such as the Seagate Wireless Plus or the Sandisk Media Drive, you can now get one from Samsung, too. That is if you use Android devices.
The giant electronic maker announced today the Samsung Wireless, a regular USB 3.0 portable drive that can also be used as a mobile media streaming server. The idea is that you use it as a portable drive to load content on to it, which then you can stream while on the go.
A Wireless Plus clone with a twist
The new Samsung Wireless seems very similar to the Seagate Wireless Plus. Both come with a 2.5-inch internal Samsung hard drive (Seagate acquired Samsung's drive business back in 2011), a built-in battery, and a 802.11n Wi-Fi network. On top of that, both also support up to five Wi-Fi clients at the same time and come with a mobile app that allows connected clients to stream content stored on the drive.
But there are things that the Wireless Plus can do that the Samsung Wireless can't and vice versa.
First Android-only device
Unlike other mobile storage devices that generally support at least Android and iOS platforms, (the Wireless Plus also has mobile apps for Windows 8, Windows RT and Kindle Fire), the Samsung Wireless only comes with an Android app; the company makes it clear that there will not be a mobile app for iOS at all.
Technically, you can use the Web browser to use it from any connected device, but for now, only Android users can enjoy the new drive via a native mobile app. Samsung says it might develop mobile apps for Windows 8/RT and Kindle Fire in the future.
Capacious battery with juice pack capability
Samsung says the Wireless drive comes with a battery that offers 7 hours of continuous usage. The drive also comes with an extra A-female USB port that users can use to charge their mobile device. Basically, similar to the case of the Samsung LTE Mobile HotSpot Pro, the new Samsung Wireless also works as a juice pack, in additional to its primary role as a wireless storage device.
Samsung says the drive can work as both roles at the same time. Obviously, running as both will decrease its battery life a great deal. Still, this is the first mobile storage device I've seen that has this capability, which can comes in handy when you really need some extra juice to continue that important phone call.
Standard mobile app and features
I tried out the Wireless drive briefly with an Android tablet, and the mobile app worked well. The app automatically organized content into video, music, and photo categories for easy streaming and I could also back up user-generated content from the tablet back to the drive.
The app could also make the Wireless drive connect to another Wi-Fi network and then relay the Internet connection of that network to the devices connected to the Wi-Fi network of its own.
Generally, it seems that the Samsung Wireless' mobile app has standard functionality and common features found in other apps, such as the one with the Seagate Wireless Plus.
Availability and pricing
The new Samsung Wireless drive is available now worldwide. The drive comes with a single capacity of 1.5TB and is slated to cost $180 in the US, which is pretty good deal, considering that the 1TB Seagate Wireless Plus costs about the same. In Europe, however, it's slated to cost €180, which is quite hefty. The drive comes with a three-year warranty. Check back soon for its full review.