When bridging is used the Wi-Drive can also be accessed from the network it bridges to, but there's no way to modify the Wi-Drive's content and there's no security to prevent viewing anything on the Wi-Drive. I would have expected these issues to be addressed, but maybe that will happen in a later release.
So, the only way to add, modify or delete content on a Wi-Drive is to connect it via its USB 2.0 port to a computer running OS X, Windows or Linux. Unfortunately, when the Wi-Drive is mounted as a USB drive, its Wi-Fi services are disabled. This is a shame; being able to sync content from a PC in real time over USB to the Wi-Drive and have simultaneous Wi-Fi access would make the Wi-Drive more useful.
Priced at $149.99 for 16GB of storage and $199.99 for 32GB (the final prices changed since my previous column), the Wi-Drive is a little on the "spendy" side considering that, for example, buying a 32GB iPad rather than a 16GB iPad increases the iPad's price by $100 ... in other words, $50 less than adding 16GB of storage with a Wi-Drive. And when it comes to a buying a 64GB iPad instead of a 32GB version, Apple charges the same, $100, as the 16GB upgrade, making the 32GB Wi-Drive at $200 look very expensive.
So, the Kingston Wi-Drive is a good idea but its weaknesses (the high relative cost of Wi-Drive storage along with the lack of anything more than basic security and the simplistic iOS apps) get it a rating of 3 out of 5.
Gibbs rates in Ventura, Calif. Your score to gearhead@gibbs.com.
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