back to article A Terabyte in my HOUSE? Got more than that in my POCKET

WD has got itself a portable wirelessly-connecting external drive, the My Passport Wireless drive. It uses WiFi to connect to “any smartphone, tablet, computer or other device.” It can use USB 3.0 as well as USB 2.0; handy for transferring large files. It broadcasts its own wireless network and allows up to eight devices to …

  1. petur

    For those who want SSD

    QNAP already has a similar product out for a while, but with SSD (and lower capacity) and AFAIK more functionality: QGenie

    http://qnap.com/useng/index.php?lang=en-us&sn=862&c=355&sc=3133&t=3134&n=22123

    1. Jan 0 Silver badge

      Re: For those who want SSD

      @petur and the QGenie. That looks useful. However, I can't find any reports of its battery life. Assuming that that "large'"3000mAh is 3V at 3Ah, that's 9Wh. Power consumption is given as 0.8W, which suggests maybe 11 hours of constant use. Of course, if it's 5 V then it's nearer to 19 hours which is much more useful. Does anyone have experience with this device?

  2. WonkoTheSane
    FAIL

    Not really useful

    Why does no-one make one of these that can be WRITTEN TO using wifi.

    It would be SO useful for a photographer.

    1. petur

      Re: Not really useful

      Then check the link in my first post above ;)

    2. GregC

      Re: Not really useful

      Also, from the article:

      Integrated FTP means, WD says, “the drive connects to compatible wireless cameras so that users can automatically transfer photos from their cameras to the drive as they are taking them.”

      Or is FTP on it's own not enough?

      1. WonkoTheSane
        Facepalm

        Re: Not really useful

        Didn't see that bit. Maybe this will be worth looking at after all...

        Pity the website doesn't actually list the so-called "compatible cameras".

        1. Anonymous Custard

          Re: Not really useful

          Was quite interested in this until I saw the price.

          For a bit over half the cost I have a WD MyPassport 2TB and a Ravpower Filehub which between them do exactly the same job. OK it's two devices rather than one, but both of them together fit perfectly into an Amazon Basics MyPassport case and has the added benefit that the Filehub can also act as a battery/power source for any device via it's USB port (as well as driving the HDD that way).

          May be another alternative for those who are interested in such an application. Two versions available, cheaper/older one (£30) with 3000mAh and SD, or new V2 for £45 with 6000mAh, LAN (Ethernet), microSD and DLNA (both with SMB, wifi hotspot and USB2 over it).

  3. picturethis
    WTF?

    Cloud? Why?

    If this has 2TB of storage, why, for god's sake, do I need to connect to the cloud?

    I'm getting really tired of all the so-called need for the "cloud"....

    Now, get off my lawn!!!

    1. Ashton Black

      Re: Cloud? Why?

      Secure (or more accurately as secure as these things can be) Backups. No other reason I can think of. Granted, a 2nd HDD or NAS could do just as well, but I do tend to use various "cloudy" places to store not very important files.

    2. mIRCat
      Headmaster

      Re: Cloud? Why?

      "why, for god's sake, do I need to connect to the cloud?" - picturethis

      In the paragraph near the bottom of the article it states, "WD’s My Cloud mobile app “connects to a My Passport Wireless drive". While I have never used it myself it sounds like it could be in your bedroom (or living room or pocket as the headline posits). The entire MyCloud feature is trying to capitalize on the popular buzzword of the day, Cloud.

      Otherwise, I agree with you. I hate the way everyone is throwing around " The Cloud".

  4. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

    Meh

    Don't buy phones lacking a microSD slot. 128GB microSD + 16GB onboard = 144 GB, WiFi, and USB in something you're already carrying.

  5. crediblywitless

    And, as usual for any of these WD 'clever disks', it'll be forever one firmware release away from being genuinely useful... ...and then obsolete. Exasperating stuff.

  6. hitmouse

    Gave up on MyCloud - my WD could never finish indexing my photos even when left for weeks to do nothing but index. Seems to be a common problem.

  7. druck Silver badge

    I'm very surprised it's using wireless-N and not the new 802.11ac.

  8. aqk
    Childcatcher

    MY OWN PERSONAL CLOUD!

    Just what I need. Until the battery dies.

    I suppose this could be plugged into the wall, via a 5V USB brick?

  9. roger stillick
    Linux

    Re: not really usefull, cameras pt.2

    REF= Darktable Manual= a Laptop running Linux Darktable teathering function on a DSLR camera uses a usb cable between the camera and laptop... no wifi option yet...

    Teathering allows full control of DSLR picture taking controls...and the laptop screen is the viewfinder...YUM... most DSLR's will give camera raw output to laptop as each pix is taken...Darktable is able to laptop store image info for any actual processing later in the laptop (making the actual pix / video).

    IMHO= the idea of wifi pix output is only a small part of what a complete photo /video system needs to be and WD's existing 1.0 Tb pocket hard drives are completely suitable for the Darktable Teathering to a Laptop controller, USA Costco price= USD. $79.00 for the simple WD HD-only pocket storage device.

    Final Thought= an extra device w/ batteries isn't what any type of camera user needs to store pix with if a simple SD card is possible to use to do a very simillar thing...RS

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like