Western Digital has been a key player in the electronic segment, their passport series has been a part of our lives for years now. We are used to plugging in our hard drives into a USB port and using for storage. Gauging the need for wireless storage and the issues with network based cloud storage Western Digital has come up with a solution called Passport Wireless.
The Passport Wireless has a battery and a Wi-Fi network built in. The wireless drive broadcasts its own wireless network to which 8 devices can connect and transfer data simultaneously. The drive features Wireless N standards that helps to transfer data at a faster rate. Users can also stream video content saved on the hard drive, the drive is capable of streaming HD videos on 4 different devices simultaneously. The device has a built-in rechargeable battery that provides 6 hours of continuous streaming and up to 20 hours of standby time.
The product is compatible with a wide range of products like Windows PC, Mac, Laptops, Tablets, iPhone, iPad and Android devices.The My Cloud App is required on these devices to transfer data to and from the wireless drive. A cool feature of the drive is the presence of an SD card slot, this is especially useful for photographers. When a card is inserted in this hard drive, it automatically takes a backup of the card. Incase the card is used again with additional data, then only the additional data is copied. This avoids duplication of files while reducing the need to take backups manually.
On the data security front the device has a password protected Wifi network keeping the data safe, there is also an option to secure the device using USB lock. The device is slightly bigger than a regular portable hard drive but its good for the functionality it offers. It is available in three storage capacity 500GB, 1TB and 2TB.
