DJ Bitterbarn

I'm going to split this off from the 7" tablet discussion, because I think it's more general and also relevant to a wider discussion.

In the context of discussing the storage limitations on the Nexus 7 (and probably on some other assorted devices) the subject came up of a wireless access point connected to some sort of storage, to which one can connect their devices and browse videos/music/images/files/etc. A bit of searching has dragged up three options:
1) Seagate GoFlex Satellite
2) Kingston Wi-Drive
3) 4G MiFi + SD Card

Now there's probably more options out there, but each of these seems to have pros and cons:
Seagate GoFlex Satellite:
Pros:
- 500Gb capacity
- Longest battery life (up to 7 hours)
- USB 3.0 and fast wifi transfer
- Lots of custom development, including options to install an SSD
- Android App (not compatible with custom firmware, though)
- Some degree of DLNA functionality
Cons:
- Most expensive
- Largest physical dimension/weight
- No 3g/4g, sketchy bridging to other wlan for internet
- Spinning disk (more chance of damange, slower overall R/W time, theoretically less battery life)
- Firmware has issues but custom firmware available (at a cost).
- Separate charger, but will charge when connected to usb... but won't function as a wifi drive in that case?
- Must be NTFS in order for the wifi to work (but not a significant problem for most cases, there are workarounds for my NAS anyway)

Kingston Wi-drive
Pros:
- SSD, low power use
- Small drive
- Charges via mini-usb, no separate charger
cons
- Max 64Gb
- USB 2.0 only
- No custom firmware (as far as I know), standard firmware not fantastic (but I'd love to be proved wrong here)
- Battery life only ~4h, which is pretty bad for an SSD but pretty good for the footprint
- No 3g/4g

MiFi 4g (clarifications welcome)
Pros
- Seems to be the smallest of the bunch
- Includes MiFi functionality
- SD storage, removeable, no moving parts
Cons
- SD Storage, not as large capacity
- Low battery life (4h) or so I hear
- Not sure about wifi features, DLNA functionality, number of simultaneous connections
- Availability?

Does anyone have any of these? Comments? Did I miss a device? It's not going to be a "rush out and get" purchase yet, but in the words of Ned Stark: Winter is coming.

Winter being when Christmas is, and I know someone who I could buy this for who'd love to get one for Christmas.

Me.

Now the technical bit: The way I see it is this:
I have a NAS at home that serves as my primary fileserver for everything. I had planned to back up nightly to an external HD, but that drive has been commandeered as a travel drive for movies and let's just say I doubt I'll ever get it back. This wifi disk will serve as a backup for documents/pictures/music and a selection of TV/movies, ideally with a nightly RSYNC to the NAS. It will live in my carry-on in the closet, bridge to the local network, and ideally be powered down for most of the day (automatically if possible, WoL ideally). When I leave the house with it, it'll automatically set up a wifi hotspot (again, WoL would be great because I could force it to start with Tasker), but if I have to manually turn it on for that it's probably also okay. The goal, though, is to have a drive that functions normally as a backup target from the proper NAS, but also automatically acts as a wifi fileserver for being out of the house, and then syncs back to the NAS later.

So ultimately, the requirements seem to be:
- WiFi hotspot with ability to connect as a device on a second wifi network
- Must be Android compatible or both of the next two points.
- Ability to browse disk with DLNA client
- Ideally features CIFS/NFS functionality
- Ability to function as NSYNC/RSYNC target over secondary wifi network
- Charges and runs on USB power (ideally at the same time, I'd rather not take a charger with me everywhere)
- Longest possible battery life. Ideally ~ 1 day of moderate use. Similar to Nexus 7 battery life is okay.
- Robust-ish and not too hot. I don't want to ever have to take this out of my carry-on.
- Bonus Points for:
- Connecting to my home VPN... which I have yet to create, but still...

ScottC

I have each of these in front of me, and the Kingston is one of the better choices. Another good choice is the Maxell Airstash as it takes standard SD cards.

The Seagate is good, but battery life is a challenge.

DJ Bitterbarn

Might I ask what firmware you're using on the Seagate? And what sort of battery lifetimes? Something I read about the 3.0 firmware making big improvements to the battery life.

Any problems getting either one to join a network and appear as a drive on said network?

I'm still tending toward the Seagate due to storage and first glances at the firmware (the custom firmware looks really nice and there's rumours of adding an SSD as an aftermarket thing) but if it's really better I'd consider either.

I also just saw the Airstash, as well as a Transcend one, which I'll try to write up later given the time.

ScottC

Ooooh - that custom firmware looks amazing. I think I'll give it a try!

The main thing I love about the Goflex is that it is web based - the Airstash needs an app to work. It is reliable and small, but the app portion is a bit of a pain.

DJ Bitterbarn

I'd actually consider ordering one directly from the guys with a big SSD pre-installed... despite my love for magnetic storage, I like the battery life.

I don't like the idea of requiring an app to run. Probably this is something that requires some testing, but I'd prefer CIFS or NFS access and I think there's something about getting SAMBA to run on the GoFlex. Just because I've got a lot of different devices talking to each other in various ways, mounting drives all over the place, and it would just be nice to be able to have the NAS (Thecus) mount the wifi drive automatically when it joins the network. Now HOW to do so is another problem, but it should be possible.

ScottC

DLNA support on the GoFlex (hacked rom) sounds interesting. That way I should be able to stream to two different devices. I paid for the rom and will install it later today. Not sure I want to give up storage space just for battery life - and I don't want to invest in a 500GB SSD either

Flahusky

Portability is in the eyes of the person carrying it
Enter the Synology DS213air
As for meeting DJ Bitterbarn`s requirements:
- WiFi hotspot with ability to connect as a device on a second wifi network
- Must be Android compatible or both of the next two points.
- Ability to browse disk with DLNA client
- Ideally features CIFS/NFS functionality
- Ability to function as NSYNC/RSYNC target over secondary wifi network
- Charges and runs on USB power (ideally at the same time, I'd rather not take a charger with me everywhere)
- Longest possible battery life. Ideally ~ 1 day of moderate use. Similar to Nexus 7 battery life is okay.
- Robust-ish and not too hot. I don't want to ever have to take this out of my carry-on.
- Bonus Points for:
- Connecting to my home VPN... which I have yet to create, but still...

Everything listed up to this point so far is more wifi enabled portable HDD then a 'NAS'.
I must admit my inner geek is liking that hacked Seagate GoFlex Satellite.

ScottC

Uh, ok. But in what world is that product even remotely portable?

To start, it doesn't even have a battery pack...

Flahusky

Well, depending on what you are willing to carry and there was a poster wanting/willing to carry a full blown UPS with them on travel

I was thinking more of a 'home base' option. Besides with everyone's claim of abundant free wifi why lug any device around? Just connect to your 'cloud' and stream the data.

ETA: Home base = hotel, conference room or where ever you are that isn't 'home'

gfunkdave

Portability aside, I'd go with either the Synology dedicated NAS or a router running the free and excellent Tomato firmware, which will do all the things you want with a USB hard drive plugged into it.

ScottC

The concept of streaming anything you want from the cloud is bogus - the places I end up rarely offers the kind of WiFi I need to let me stream high quality content. I'm happy if I can copy a Word document off the cloud.

Most trade show floors, hotels, public WiFi all offer too little speed to allow for decent cloud access. That is why portable NAS units are around.

DJ Bitterbarn

I hate to say, but I really do like it except for the "portability" aspect. And even then, it's still going to be under 3 kg... but that's still 2 kg more than I'd like. I can understand putting it in the hotel as a base station, which is more or less what I'd do, but the battery is key as I intend to use it where there is no power*.

The idea of a tomato-enabled router also sounds promising. My backup WRT54G won't do it, but it's also not terribly "portable" either. Although there are always other options. Still comes down to the battery, unfortunately.

All good ideas, though, which would probably make more sense than a portable HD for someone who's spending a reasonable amount of time on the road. Set it up in the hotel and you're set for days. And I can see that working better in terms of a VPN to home (especially Tomato).

I might try to grab a used GoFlex off ebay or the like, but I appreciate everyone doing the test work for me in terms of firmware usefulness!

*Read: I intend to use it where it would be impractical or inconvenient to find a power source and not having to do so would greatly improve the chance that this device would be used

nmenaker

I thought the kingstons were EOL'd recently?

ScottC

Site still lists them, and I can't find anything about them being discontinued...

http://www.kingston.com/us/usb/wireless#wid

They are also working on an update for iOS6.

DJ Bitterbarn

Maybe the smaller ones? They just released a 64 Gb version this year and they still have a page up for them that only lists the 32 and 64 Gb versions.

Edit: Beat me by three minutes!