Playing around

Ignore the video listing and normal browsing will show all files, regardless of playback support. This is just as well because you can browse the device from other apps. By entering in the Wi-Drive IP address using the latest OPlayer HD app on an iPad 2, I was able to see all the folders and play just about any video format I had on there.

Document viewing is straightforward if the format is supported

Document support includes MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint along with PDF and text. Although RTF files are listed as supported, the test files I tried weren’t readable. If you use Pages – Apple’s iOS wordprocessor – or the Numbers spreadsheet (both featured as part of the Mac’s iWork suite), you’ll not be able to read these files either. So it’s not quite as joined up with the iOS user experience as it might be.

Kingston claims the Wi-Drive can support three iOS devices simultaneously, and this certainly rang true when connected to an iPad and two iPhones, each accessing different content. The only issue was with one of the iPhones accessing a movie with a fairly high data rate. Yet overall, access was fairly snappy.

Returning to the issue of Internet access, the Wi-Drive has an ace up its sleeve. Its configuration menu has the facility for it to join an existing wireless network and then act as a bridge to that access point. You still connect to the Wi-Drive as before, but now even networked computers can access its content by entering in the IP address. It all worked without a hitch on my home Wi-Fi set-up, but admittedly, I didn't get anywhere trying this out with the rather more robustly configured office WLAN.

Files can be accessed wirelessly from computers too

In use, the Wi-Drive can be a bit clunky at times. You really need to have the device turned on with lights a-glowing before running the Wi-Drive app. If the app is running first, the connection doesn’t seem to kick in so readily. Admittedly, I tired of waiting and found quitting the app and running it again proved the most effective way to reliably gain access.

Next page: Aerial view?