INTRODUCTION
I'm well aware that this may sound like a fairy tale for some of you but once upon a time we all used to carry around 1.44" floppy disks with which we shared games, midi tunes (i recall several groups attending various competitions for such things - some are now scene groups) and software with our friends at school. Now although floppies where eventually replaced by CDs and later on by DVDs still i can't remember a time when we used to carry large amounts of data with us at least not until the first 2GB USB flash drives made their appearance in the market over a decade ago. Of course as you all know now things have changed quite a bit and so most people carry around at least a high capacity USB flash drive while professionals and enthusiasts (even gamers) have no other choice but to carry 2.5/3.5" portable hard drives with them in order to store all the data they need. That being said most people (myself included) own at least one tablet and one smartphone so having the ability to access your data via such devices can be extremely useful and so for the past 2 years we've witnessed the introduction of many WiFi enabled drives and card readers that offer exactly that. Well Seagate just took things onto the next level with their latest Wireless Plus Mobile Device Storage that offers up to 2TB of space for people who really want something more from such a device.
Founded in 1979, Seagate is the leading provider of hard drives and storage solutions. From the videos, music and documents we share with friends and family on social networks, to servers that form the backbone of enterprise data centers and cloud-based computing, to desktop and notebook computers that fuel our personal productivity, Seagate products help more people store, share and protect their valuable digital content. Seagate offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of hard disk drives, solid-state drives and solid-state hybrid drives. In addition, the company offers an extensive line of retail storage products for consumers and small businesses, along with data-recovery services for any brand of hard drive and digital media type. Seagate employs more than 50,000 people around the world.
The Wireless Plus Mobile Device Storage is basically a 2.5" hard disk drive housed inside an state of the art aluminum/plastic USB 3.0 enclosure that features an internal WiFi receiver/transmitter and a rechargeable battery which gives it up to 10 hours of life. Via the WiFi receiver/transmitter you can access the data inside the drive with up to 8 WiFi enabled devices, stream HD media content on up to 3 WiFi enabled devices (3 different movies to 3 different devices) and also share your internet connection with up to a total of 7 WiFi enabled devices. The 2.5" hard disk drive placed inside the Wireless Plus 2TB is actually the Samsung/Seagate SpinPoint M9T model that features 3 platters (each 667GB in capacity), a rotational speed of 5400RPM and 32MB of cache. In this review we will not only be taking a look at the Seagate Media App that allows sharing of files, streaming of digital content and sharing your internet connection but we will also test the Wireless Plus 2TB as a regular USB 3.0 PHD to see what you can expect in terms of wired performance.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
We received the Wireless Plus inside a white box with a product picture at the front right next to pictures of some WiFi enabled devices.
The main features of the Wireless Plus are printed on the left side.
A list of compatible devices is present on the right side of the box.
Moving at the rear we see a small product description in three paragraphs printed in 8 different languages.
The entire bundle is placed inside a formed piece of plastic that offers sufficient protection.
Along with the Wireless Plus 2TB you will also receive a USB 3.0 cable, quick start guide and an AC power adapter with 2 plugs (EU/UK).
THE WIRELESS PLUS 2TB
The 21mm thick enclosure of the Wireless Plus 2TB measures 127mm in length, 89mm in width and weighs 272g.
To showcase just how large the Wireless Plus 2TB is i placed it right next to one of my Nokia Lumia smartphones.
On the upper left corner of the Wireless Plus 2TB Seagate has placed the WiFi and Power LEDs.
The USB 3.0 port is placed at the front end of the enclosure.
Four small rubber feet are placed at the bottom of the drive along with a sticker that includes the model number, MAC address, barcode, serial number, part number and several certification logos.
THE SEAGATE MEDIA APP
In order to access and stream data to WiFi enabled devices (and to share your internet connection) you will need to download the Seagate Media App (android/iOS) from the Play Store and the Apple Store. As you can see from the above pictures (unfortunately at the time we took these pictures none of our tablets were available) the Seagate Media App places data in several categories including videos, photos, music and documents.
Again as you can see Seagate offers a large number of short clips, pictures and music files preloaded into the device to showcase its sharing abilities.
TEST BED
TESTING METHODOLOGY
Keeping things simple so even people new in the field of computers can understand will always be our way so once again our testing procedure is almost exactly the same as the one we use with 2.5/3.5" external docking stations. This time however we will be comparing the product at hand with a wide range of 2.5" portable drives and standalone 2.5" enclosures all of which were benched using a HGST 7K750 SATA II hard disk drive. Our standard selection of benchmark suites is used here as well including the famous HD Tach RW (Long Bench 32mb Zones), HD Tune Pro (read/write -when possible- speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read/Write - also when possible- speeds), AIDA64 (Linear Read/Random Read), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB/1000MB read/write speeds) and finally the quite outdated yet highly reliable ATTO 2.47 (Max Read/Max Write speeds). Every test was repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) numbers were recorded into our charts. As always every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 with every update installed up to August 18th 2014.
TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO
TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO
TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64
TEST RESULTS - TEMPERATURES
CONCLUSION
If i was to say that the Wireless Plus 2TB Mobile Device Storage is the fastest USB 3.0 compatible external hard drive I’ve tested to date I’d obviously be lying (you can tell by checking our charts after all) but i really doubt that was ever the intention of Seagate. Instead it's by far the best and most versatile all-around external hard drive I’ve ever used and/or tested not only because it offers both USB 3.0 wired and WiFi wireless connectivity but also because it allows you to stream 3 different video clips to up to 3 devices simultaneously and it even allows you to share your internet connection with up to 7 devices. Of course there are some limitations with the device since you can't stream high bitrate Full HD media from it but that doesn't really come as a surprise since the same applies for every single similar media streamer we've used in the past. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery may not provide the Wireless Plus 2TB with 10 full hours of life while in use but while using it to stream files (not continuously) it did come near 8 hours which is not bad at all considering its size.
While I’m typing these lines the Wireless Plus 2TB Mobile Device Storage by Seagate retails for USD199 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 175Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) so it really doesn't land anywhere near a normal 2TB portable hard drive. However you are also not getting a normal PHD since the Wireless Plus model can also be used to wireless stream your media files and share and your internet connection onto several compatible devices. In a way the introduction of the Wireless Plus 2TB model makes me wonder if we'll ever get to see routers with built-in HDDs (CLOUD ready) anytime soon but that's something we'll have to wait and see. For now the Seagate Wireless Plus 2TB Mobile Device Storage works as advertised and since we had no problems while testing it we have no reason not to give it our Platinum Award.
PROS
- Build Quality
- Wired & Wireless Performance
- Can Stream 3 HD Video Clips Onto 3 Devices
- Data Sharing With Up To 8 Different Devices
- Internet Connection Sharing With Up To 7 Different Devices
- Built-In Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery
- Seagate Media App
- 2TB Capacity
CONS
- Price (For Some)