[Nexus 7 Accessories] jdavet:
This section is flooded with case threads, so I decided to write up some first impressions on a different type of accessory: the Kingston Wi-Drive.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Wi-D...=UTF8&qid=1342506312&sr=8-1&keywords=wi-drive

(I bought it from Best Buy since I had a gift card from there)

Flavors: 16gb, 32gb, and 64gb (I got the 32gb)

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

Since I'm not too experienced with reviews, I'll post a nice one I read before buying... it has a link to a nice video with it in action: http://androidspin.com/2012/03/27/k...adds-new-features-and-just-plain-works-great/

Because I have the 8gb Nexus 7, I looked for some type of portable external storage... and since there currently isn't a way to play files directly from an OTG + USB drive (edited: looks like OTG+USB drive works for some but not for others... there is a thread in the accessories section that is keeping track of the drives that allow you to play media directly from them... thanks for the heads up mewantnexus7), I wanted to look into a wi-fi drive. As there are a few in the market (Seagate GoFlex Satellite, Transcend Storejet, maybe more), I will give you some of the reasons why I chose this one and my initial impressions of the device.

Reasons for choosing the Wi-Drive over the competition:

1. SSD (Seagate and Transcend have received complaints about the drives quitting on their users... both have HDDs)

2. More portable (very small and light... about the size of the Nexus One maybe... but way thinner. Maybe more comparable to an ipod touch... but haven't handled an ipod, so I don't know.).

3. The app works... according to many, the Seagate software was extremely buggy., and the only way to make it usable was to hack it (see hackseagatesatellite.com). Don't know about Transcends software.

4. Reviews online were overall better for the Wi-Drive

My initial impressions:

Before going into the pros and cons, let me just say that, according to my testing, the wi-drive works the best with Dice Player (I have the free version with ads). In Jelly Bean, video would stutter in the default media player and even MX Player. In ICS (tested on a GNex with CM9) and Gingerbread (tested with a rooted G2), those players may have worked okay, but would bring the video up slower than Dice. Overall, Dice worked the best.... and the only player I found that worked on the N7.

PROS:

1. I love how portable and light it is.

2. Easy for folks to connect. Have them connect to the wi-drive's SSID... then they either go into the android/ios app or put 192.168.200.254 in their fav browser, and they are connected.

3. 3 devices can play content smoothly without hiccups

4. It's possible to connect to both the wi-drive and your own wi-fi network in order to surf the night while connected to your drive.

5. Contrary to what some people may think, it is possible to charge and stream your media (just turn the drive on before charging)

6. The app works well (though it force closes sometimes... usually when disconnected from the wi-drive network).

7. The security features are nice... you can hide your ssid and put some type of encryption (WEP, WPA, WPA2, or mixed).

8. It has a pretty nice range. I used it about 18 ft. away with a wall between me and the wi-drive; it showed about 2 wifi bars on the N7... and the video played perfectly. Of course, success may differ due to many different factors that affect wi-fi.

9. You can transfer media from your device to the wi-drive and vice versa (and delete media) through the app. Haven't tried it through a browser. IOS doesn't have that feature which is weird but doesn't concern me since I don't have an IOS device.

10. Battery Life: I haven't tested it, but those that have said that it lasted over 4 hours, which is comparable to Seagate's drive. Being able to watch a couple of movies on a single charge is pretty nice and is enough for me... and, as mentioned above, you can charge and stream as well.

CONS:

1. It gets HOT... extremely hot when streaming. Leaving it out in the open is definitely recommended... for one, so it doesn't burn you while it's in your pocket (exaggerating a bit, but just a bit), and also to keep your drive as cool as possible.

2. The storage size may not be enough for some (which may be a con for them), but I think choosing an SSD over an HDD is worth it.

3. It takes about 2 min and 15 sec from powering on the drive (1 min 30 sec from connecting to the wi-drive) to be able to see content from the app or the browser. Not super-long... and it may be fast for an accessory like this, but I figured I'd just put it on the con side just in case.

4. There's no way to change the wi-drive's IP address (source: Kingston Wi-Drive FAQ)

5. 3 connected devices may be a con to some...and all connected devices seem to have read/write access to your media (haven't officially tested this, but I did see the copy/delete options on a friend's device).

That's all I can think of right now. Will update if I can think of anything else.

RECOMMENDED? Yes!!

I really enjoy this accessory. I love that I can take it around and access the media on all of my devices... essentially extending the memory not only on my N7, but on all of the devices. I can save storage on my devices for apps and other things and put all media on the wi-drive. I think this is a no-brainer for 8gb N7 owners... but even 16gb N7's could use some extra storage.

Feel free to chime in if you have the wi-drive and let me know if I missed something.