My Travel Storage Partner: SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick - Be On The Road | Live your Travel Dream!
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Thursday, October 13, 2016

My Travel Storage Partner: SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick

We are living in the era of selfies, Facebook live, real time sharing of photos and videos on instagram, snapchat, WhatsApp, twitter and facebook, YouTube videos and so much online and offline consumption of content. We seem to be creating, consuming and sharing content at a scary pace.  But, unfortunately our mobile devices (phones, tablets, phablets, etc.) haven’t quite kept up with this increasing need for extra space. Whether our device comes in 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB, we still end up deleting data from time to time. Additionally, there is that huge cost impact to procure mobile devices with extra storage space and there is the issue with responsiveness once the device is loaded with data. There are cloud storage solutions like Google Drive, Apple iCloud, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, etc. that come to the rescue, but they need good stable internet connectivity to be easily accessible. Plus, data access further bores a hole in your wallet. So, the question here is how do we address this growing need for storage without spending too much money, sacrificing responsiveness or depending on always staying connected to the cloud. With this food for thought, I scoured the web for solutions and that is when I came across the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick. From the time I started using this device, I have been hooked to it. This article is my personal review of using this wireless storage device on my travels and why I am in love with it.

SanDisk Connect - My Travel Storage Partner

As a frequent traveler, travel blogger and photographer, I definitely am one who guzzles data. I capture tonnes of memories of my travels through my DSLR and phone and these videos and photos consume storage at an alarming rate. Then, there is real time sharing ,working on the move and personal entertainment. In simple words, I have huge storage needs. These days, my travel storage partner is a 200 GB SanDisk connect wireless stick that looks like a USB stick, but it packs quite a punch. Here are some scenarios from my travels where I have found it to be extremely handy.

Helpful Travel Scenarios

1) Storing Travel Memories is always ON 

Earlier, I used to worry about clicking too many photos or capturing long travel videos. After using the SanDisk Wireless Connect, that worry has disappeared and I now save all my travel memories. Editing them is a different issue, but at least I have all the raw data. If I capture these memories on the phone, I wirelessly transfer it to the SanDisk wireless stick and if I use my DSLR, I transfer it to my stick via the USB drive.

2) Lots of Entertainment for Long Layovers

Multiple devices can access same or different content simultaneously using SanDisk Connect

Travel means delays, layovers and different kind of journeys where you need to consume a lot of content to kill time. Personally, I prefer watching series of TV shows and the latest movies. And as we all prefer to watch them in Full HD, they do take up a lot of space. But, with the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick, I can easily access them wirelessly on either my mobile or my tablet. And if I feel like watching it on my laptop, I can use it as a regular USB stick. In case, I am traveling with family or friends, 3 devices can simultaneously access and consume content from the wireless stick. This could be the same movie or different movies. I think this is one of the coolest features of this device. Even when 3 devices simultaneously stream content from the SanDisk wireless stick, there is no buffering at all. However, battery does drain out pretty fast.

3) All my Music Store for long trips and workouts

It doesn’t matter whether it is to kill time, for my workouts, for my city walks, for my wildlife photography or for those late night hostel parties, the traveler in me always needs his music. With 200 GB of space that can be accessed wirelessly and without any hassle, I can listen to my music absolutely anywhere. I could be in the middle of the desert, on a boat cruise or inside a train, my music is never far away from me.

4) Doubles up as a backup Hard Disk

I have 32 GB on my phone, 64 GB on my tablet, 256 GB on my laptop and about 256 GB of memory in CF cards. Even with such space, I always prefer to have with me some additional storage. The SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick provides 200 GB of storage that can be accessed wirelessly and that can easily dove tail into my backup hard disk if I ever need one.

5) Free up Space on my Phone

Easy way to back up photos on the go

With the amount of selfies and pictures that we click every day, I am pretty sure all of us run out of in-built phone storage pretty quickly. Thanks to cloud storage, our photos get backed up and we can safely delete photos and create additional space. However, cloud storage is not accessible always. Especially, if you are out on an adventure trip, on a boat cruise or in an area with poor internet connectivity. In such situations where I find myself often, I find a lot of use for my SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick. It works like a backup medium, but in an offline mode. And once we find connectivity, we can either put them up on the cloud or let it remain on the device. After all, 200 Gigabytes is a decent amount of storage to have.

Super Friendly Features

1) Portable and Compact 

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Connect is a super small sized device that weighs only a few grams and can be stored easily in your daypack, fanny pack or even your jeans pocket. It can be easily charged via the USB slot of your laptop or your battery pack. It takes about 1 to 2 hours to charge completely.

2) Idiot-Proof Use 

Once charged, all you have to do is switch on the power button and depending on your device (Android or iOS), you download the app, open it and you are connected via Wi-Fi. The user interface is super simple with a easy to use explorer and you can seamlessly transfer files from the device to up to 3 simultaneous devices. As the wireless stick is compatible with both Android and iOS, these 3 devices could be a combination of both Android or iOS.

3) Decent Wireless Range

I kept the wireless stick about 100 feet from my mobile and it still transferred files wirelessly without sacrificing speeds.

4) Secure Wi-Fi Feature

By default, the SanDisk connect device comes with an open connection, but in case you are worried about safety, the device allows you to encrypt your connection with a password that only you and your family/friends know. This is a great feature to secure the personal information stored on your phone or tablet.

Potential Improvements

1) Needs Charge Every Night

The battery is one area where I feel improvements can be made. Right now, it provides 4 hours and 30 minutes of continuous video streaming and about 8 to 10 hours of regular use. During my travels, I found that I had to transfer the wireless stick every night if I planned to use it all day long either for backup or for streaming. Luckily for me, I always plug it into my laptop when I am working and it ends up charging fully. As I usually carry a battery pack with me, I am also ready for any contingencies.

2) Battery drops rapidly with multiple devices

3 Simultaneous devices being able to access the data on the wireless stick is a cool feature to have, but I noticed that when I did this, battery did drain out fairly rapidly. Again, not a deal breaker, but it would have been nicer to have more battery backup for such a cool feature.

Verdict

I am absolutely in love with my SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick. With more and more phones and tablets doing away with external storage options, such a wireless storage option makes the life of a traveler super convenient. Easy to back up, store or access your files without having to trust the cloud, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick is my perfect travel storage partner. Have you tried it as yet?


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