SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive Review

Introduction

Strange to say, but most of today’s high-end smartphones don’t feature expandable storage. Therefore, once you’ve used up all of its memory, you’re left to choose what stays and goes. Don’t fret anymore people, that’s because the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive is looking like the perfect solution for those who need to make some room on their device. Don’t hold your breath now, since it doesn’t end there thanks to its ability to wirelessly stream content to various devices – simultaneously too!

The package contains:

• Owner’s manual

Design

Hardly a shocker, it looks like a flash drive – though, its construction feels a wee bit wonky.

Low and behold! It looks exactly like an ordinary flash drive, not like today’s compact and contemporary ones, but rather, the narrow and elongated kinds from when flash drives first busted onto the scene. The body is constructed from plastic, which gives it a lightweight feel in the hand, but it tends to feel a bit too hollow – essentially radiating a cheap feel. Breaking up the bland design, there’s a glossier strip down the middle that has an eye catching checkered pattern.

Knowing what the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive is capable doing, we’re astounded by how compact and tiny it really is. The size is unobtrusive, allowing us to carry it in our pocket without occupying a huge amount of space. Overall, the build quality might make it feel cheaply constructed, but there’s more to it than looks.

Along that strip, there’s a silver rectangular power button. After holding it down for a few seconds to turn it on/off, the LED lights on the opposite ends of the strip turn on to display its connectivity and charging status. Pulling down the top head of the unit exposes its USB 2.0 connection, which allows us to connect it to PC – where it acts just like any USB flash drive at that point. At the same time, it’s how we’re able to charge its internal battery. On the bottom edge, there’s a spot there to attach a lanyard. It’s great thing to attach to your keychain, so it’s always on you at any given time.

Hidden behind a plastic flap is the unit’s microSD slot, which comes supplied with a card – a 32GB one in our case. Essentially, it’s the brains of the operation, as it’s where all the content is stored and accessed. In addition, it’s worth mentioning that it’s packing along its very own Wi-Fi radio, which allows it to establish a hotspot of its own for various devices to connect to it. At the most, it’s able to allow up to 8 devices to connect to it.

Software

Using the appropriate Wireless Flash Drive app, which is available to download for iOS 5.0+ and Android 2.3+ devices, we can use it to transfer, stream, and organize content. The initial set up is pretty self-explanatory, since we’re required to directly connect to the Wi-Fi network it’s broadcasting. However, once that’s out of the way, there’s an option to connect the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive to an existing home network – so there’s no need to flip-flop between the two.

Once everything is properly connected and set up, the app allows us to see what’s stored in the microSD card. From here, we can stream content like music and videos to our mobile devices – while also using it as a backup storage device. Basically, we can copy photos to and from our device to the microSD card in the flash drive, which frees up the local space.

Performance

Streaming speeds are consistent, with no noticeable compromise.

We have to admit, the streaming speed isn’t compromised whatsoever with this. From listening to music, to watching high definition videos, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive barely shows off any lag or delay with its transmission. Naturally, it’s wonderful that we have an uninterrupted experience with it, but even better knowing that up to 3 devices can stream videos at the same time from it.

Even from 30 feet away, the connection is pretty solid – with no compromise to its streaming functionality. And finally, it’s rated to offer up to 4 hours of battery life with video streaming from a full charge. Of course, charging it isn’t a problem, seeing that we merely need to connect it to a USB port.

Conclusion

At first glance, some people might be put off by the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive. Many people will undoubtedly mistake it for an aged flash drive of some kind, but it goes way beyond that with its cool functionality. There are so many scenarios where it comes in handy, like being able to snap photos on a digital camera, and then sharing the content simultaneously to other mobile devices by hooking up the microSD card into the unit. Furthermore, it’s a great tool to not only help organize our content, but it also helps to free up some space on our mobile devices.

Now if you’re looking to pick this up, just know that it’s available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities – where pricing is set at $50, $60, and $100 respectively. Between them all, you’ll get the most value out of the 32GB version. In the end, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive is a versatile tool that complements your constantly growing storage needs. There’s more to it than just that, obviously, since it gives us the power and control to organize and share content. It’s a must-have item!