Disclaimer: This was a personnel purchase, as such it is being reviewed completely independently.
Buy now in the United Kingdom or in the United States
What is it?
The Verbatim MediaShare Wireless is a wireless hub turning a ‘wired’ hard drive into wireless hard drive that provides a way to share files and media between up to 5 connected devices on its private wi-if network via its file manager app. With 9 hrs of continuous battery life there is plenty of juice on the device to keep you going for a long plane flight or work day, it can even help charge your mobile device if needed.
Unlike wireless hard drive units this device acts more like a hub allowing you to connect a USB hard disk or thumb drive as well as an SD card. This has pros and also some cons. The pros are you can connect any USB hard drive to the unit and are not limited to a single drive, another advantage of which is the ability to then connect those drives to a Mac and back them up with Backblaze. It also provides you the ability to insert a camera SD card and transfer them wirelessly to a hard drive whilst on the road, also allowing you to view them on any mobile device. The obvious cons are that you need to carry both this unit and a storage unit, and you will need to connect the two together which might be a hindrance whilst travelling unlike a traditional wireless hard drive.
Who is this for?
This device appeals if you are looking to do the following:
- Carry a lot of media (movies etc) on the road with you when you are travelling without a laptop.
- You want to transfer photos from your camera SD card to a large hard drive when you are out and about, allowing you to take more pictures.
- You want to go iOS only.
- You travel with kids. This is great to keep them (and you) occupied on a long flight. You could also wire this into your car 12v supply and tuck it neatly away in your boot (trunk) with a hard drive attached. This would create an in car media hub.
- You need to share large files or media with a project team quickly and securely.
- You want more flexibility than a wireless hard drive unit.
How Well Does it Work?
The hardware itself works really well. It is well designed, feels solid and is easy to access.
However, where the whole package falls down is the app software, at least on iOS. It works well, but hasn’t been updated and looks just plain weird on iOS. Verbatim need to update it ASAP from a visual perspective. I’ve been able to stream movies, open PDFs, pictures all with great speed and ease. When opening a movie file, there was no buffering or lag at all. There isn’t a desktop app, so you are limited to mobile devices. Obviously with removable media this isn’t an issue. I’m not sure if the dedicated wireless hard drives come with desktop software, but if not, this could be a distinct benefit of going with this unit.
Conclusion
The main point of a product review description is should you by it or not? Well if you need to share a large storage device with one or several mobile devices or you travel with kids then the answer is simply yes. If you want more flexibility that a wireless hard drive whilst effectively converting multiple wire hard drives into wireless hard drives then this product is for you. The software needs to be updated urgently, but still functions fine. The hardware is solid and fast as well as nice and compact. You can buy the device from the links below, and if you do please leave a comment on your thoughts of the device.
Buy now in the United Kingdom or in the United States