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With all the iPads and iPad 2’s flying out of Apple stores, many of which holding only relatively small amounts of application and file storage, it would be a welcome thing to have easily accessible additional storage to go with it.
After all, iPads and most other tablet devices only carry a limited amount of on-board storage (usually 16GB, 32GB or 64GB).
The iPad’s been out for a year, yet nobody’s come forth with something like this until Seagate introduced its wireless GoFlex Satellite earlier this week.
What the Satellite (pictured) does for iPad owners, in fact, owners of any WiFi-enabled device, is give them 500 more gigabytes of portable capacity. Now that provides some options, such as enabling a user to take a large portion, if not all, of a media library on the road.
Leave the Cable at Home
The hookup cables can be left at home, however. The Satellite will stream content to a connected device from up to 150 feet away. It’s as WiFi-like as your home network, or sitting down at Starbucks.
“We’re actually targeting the Satellite at households that have one or more tablets, and in particular those who are exceeding the storage capacity of the devices,” Nathan Papadopulos, Seagate’s Senior Manager of Retail Corporate Communications, told eWEEK. “And that’s not too difficult to do these days.
“The average users stores about 80GB to 100GB of content on a home PC, and most of those are media files, of course. Most of that content is video. And with HD video becoming more popular all the time, capacities are going to fill up faster than ever.”
The GoFlex Satellite carries 500GB of capacity, features Wi-Fi access over 802.11 b/g/n and has a rechargeable battery, Papadopulos said. “The wireless access works out to about 150 feet, which is about standard,” Papadopulos said.
Devices are wirelessly connected directly to the GoFlex Satellite drive by use of the free GoFlex Media app, which is available now on iTunes and the Apple App Store — or a web browser, Papadopulos said.
GoFlex Satellite is available now for preorder from Seagate.com, Amazon and BestBuy.com for about $200, Papadopulos said. The devices are scheduled to arrive in Best Buy stores in July. Global availability is planned for later this summer, Papadopulos said.