Review: Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB

<img alt="Review: Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB" src="http://ift.tt/1QdvHjm" /> <h3>Introduction and design</h3> <p>Seagate added a strange looking product to its portfolio earlier this year. No, I am not talking about the <a href="http://ift.tt/1Db2T27">Seagate Seven</a> which was reviewed recently, but the Wireless Mobile Storage instead.</p> <p>This product is essentially a consumer-focused, wireless network attached storage, not unlike the Seagate <a href="http://ift.tt/1QdvHjo">Wireless Plus 2TB drive</a> we reviewed last year. The device can create its own private network with up to three users connected concurrently.</p> <p>It has an integrated battery that can power the device for up to six hours – that longevity will vary due to a number of factors like the type of content, whether you're streaming, and how many people are connected to it.</p> <p>This is a 500GB wireless mobile storage device that looks a bit like a rather large pebble. Unlike its bigger brother, the <a href="http://ift.tt/1Db2T2a">Seagate Backup Plus 8TB</a>, this one has soft edges. Seagate offers the gadget in five different colour options, a move perhaps to make storage become a bit more trendy.</p> <p><img alt="Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB bottom" src="http://ift.tt/1QdvFbk" title="The only place you'll see the Seagate logo is on the underside" width="420" /></p> <h3>Design</h3> <p>At just over 280g, it is roughly about the size of a double CD case (remember those?) and fits comfortably on your palm (provided you have fairly big hands). Note that there's no Seagate branding other than on the bottom of the device.</p> <p>It is solidly built and other than a big power button and status LEDs (power, wired connectivity, wireless connectivity), the only other feature worth mentioning is a micro-USB 2.0 port that is used for charging the device and transferring data (as expected you won't be able to use wireless and wired data transfer simultaneously).</p> <p>The Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB is compatible with most mobile/desktop operating systems and the likes of Apple's AirPlay, LG's SmartTV, <a href="http://ift.tt/1F3OA3m">Google's Chromecast</a>, Roku and <a href="http://ift.tt/QSAqIX">Amazon's Kindle Fire</a>.</p> <p>Seagate is clearly targeting customers who may not be very tech-savvy, but who want to get a plug-and-play wireless device to store their content. So it's not a surprise therefore that data transfer/access is mostly expected to be done wirelessly rather than via a USB cable.</p> <p><img alt="Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB port" src="http://ift.tt/1QdvHjx" title="A micro-USB 2.0 port is used for charging and transferring data" width="420" /></p> <p>You access the device using <a href="http://ift.tt/1QdvFbn">Seagate's Media App</a>, which is standard across the whole range of wireless Seagate storage solutions (which means that it hasn't been dumbed down or adapted for less savvy users).</p> <p>The app is fairly straightforward and allows for limited file management capabilities. As is the case for most bundled applications, Seagate stuck to the most basic set of features – it does allow for an auto-upload feature as well as remote access over the internet (i.e. using the device as an access point). If you want a more versatile backup solution, then <a href="http://ift.tt/1vaPJUi">check out our top 10 backup solutions on the market</a>.</p> <p>Also we fail to understand why Seagate chooses to ship its devices with an unsecured wireless connection. You need to change your login details as soon as possible after you connect and leave the storage device in wireless mode.</p> <p><img alt="Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB top" src="http://ift.tt/1QdvFbp" title="Battery life will depend on a number of factors" width="420" /></p> <h3>Performance</h3> <p>The drive is based on a 5400RPM, single platter 2.5-inch hard disk drive with 16MB of cache, and it managed to deliver decent performance despite being connected via a USB 2.0 port.</p> <p>Using CrystalDiskMark, it managed just over 35MBps on sequential read/write benchmarks, achieving 136 IOPS and 255 IOPS on read and write, respectively.</p> <p>As for its streaming performance, we managed to stream three HD videos from the device to a trio of mobile devices, without any visible lag but again, as for battery life, this will very much depend on your content, the immediate environment and the number of devices connected to the Seagate drive.</p> <h3>Verdict</h3> <p>All in all, the Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage looks like a decent enough device – but I am unhappy with it. The reason is simple – Seagate's own Wireless Plus device is a vastly superior product as far as I am concerned. As such the WMS suffers from what I would call 'bad product placement syndrome'.</p> <h3>We liked</h3> <p>Seagate tried to innovate by offering the Wireless Mobile Storage drive in five colours. The device also distinguishes itself from the rest of the competition when it comes to the design, and the fact that it has an actual power button.</p> <h3>We disliked</h3> <p>It is relatively bulky for a storage device, and something more portable would have been preferred. Seagate oddly chose to fit in a USB 2.0 port rather than a USB 3.0 model, something that makes it a chore to transfer large amounts of data; it would probably take days to transfer half a terabyte of data.</p> <h3>Final verdict</h3> <p>Amazon sells <a href="http://ift.tt/1Db2VH7" rel="nofollow">Seagate's 500GB Wireless Plus</a> drive for £78, and the <a href="http://ift.tt/1QdvFbt" rel="nofollow">Wireless Mobile Storage</a> costs £94 from the same vendor – 20% more, in other words. The Wireless Plus Drive has a more classic (I'd say subdued) design, fits comfortably in a jeans pocket, allows up to eight devices to connect at the same time, has a battery life of up to 10 hours and comes with a USB 3.0 port.</p> <p>Bear in mind that 500GB can get filled up really quickly, so it might be worth investing a bit more to future-proof your device. The 2TB Wireless Plus model we tested last year offers four times the capacity for a 67% premium.</p> <p>Given all this, there's very little to recommend anyone to buy this device especially as both of these Seagate offerings use the same application/software platform. Don't get me wrong, the Wireless Mobile Storage is not fundamentally a bad device, but you don't have to look far to discover another more compelling alternative.</p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1OBfWz8" width="1" /><br clear='all' /> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://ift.tt/1yL9lQB" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1OBfWzc" /></a><br /> <a href="http://ift.tt/1yL9lQD" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1OBfWze" /></a><br /> <a href="http://ift.tt/1yL9nbr" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1OBfWzg" /></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://ift.tt/1yL9nbt"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1OBfWzi" /></a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1yL9nrJ" width="1" /><img alt="" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1yL9nrL" width="1" /><br /> <br /> From <a href="http://ift.tt/yaGhNV">techradar</a><br /> <br /> from http://bit.ly/1QdykBV<br />

Review: Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage 500GB

Introduction and design Seagate added a strange looking product to its portfolio earlier this year. No, I am not talking about the Seagate...

Read more »

Is mounting video traffic going to break the internet?

<img alt="Is mounting video traffic going to break the internet?" src="http://ift.tt/1E5oXio" /> <h3>Introduction and pressure on networks</h3> <p>Two-thirds of all internet traffic is video, and the number of smart, mobile devices in the world will double to two billion by 2017. Since IP networks are already creaking under the pressure, something's got to give.</p> <p>"Video content creation has gone ballistic," says Priya Shah, CMO of Antix. "Social networks are putting more and more emphasis on video, and our dependence on our mobile phones means we can capture a video at any moment."</p> <p>According to GoPro, in the first quarter of 2014, an average of 6,000 daily YouTube uploads and more than one billion views represented more than 50 million watched hours of videos with 'GoPro' in the title, file name, tags or description.</p> <p>"Everyone has the opportunity to be a video producer now, and it's become a key form of communication for everyone from sports stars to major brands," says Shah. Trouble is, most of it's a complete waste of space – from skiers using a GoPro to film every dreary descent to the hordes who watch live gigs from behind their smartphone, the web is full of poor quality video.</p> <p><img alt="Priya Shah, CMO of Antix" src="http://ift.tt/1zFmENN" title="Priya Shah, CMO of Antix" width="420" /></p> <h3>What pressures does video put on networks?</h3> <p>The sheer volume causes a bottleneck. "The explosion in the variety and volume of apps we use consumes a lot of bandwidth – video apps such as Skype messaging, YouTube and Netflix are major culprits," says Brent Lees, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Riverbed Technology. Social media broadcasting apps like Periscope can't be helping.</p> <p>Because they need greater bandwidth, such 'heavy' apps get priority, which can cause delays on other less 'time sensitive' applications.</p> <p>"Networks are more critical to the user experience than ever before," says Mervyn Kelly, Marketing Director EMEA, Ciena. "With the consumer shift from viewing TV over multichannel subscription video services to watching internet video via a broadband or Wi-Fi connection, we are seeing today's households' bandwidth requirements skyrocketing."</p> <p>A Ciena-sponsored study conducted by ACG Research found that average household bandwidth requirements are poised to increase by 31% annually over the next five years, from a peak hour average usage per household of 2.9Mbps in 2014 to 7.3Mbps in 2018. It gets worse. "Mobile bandwidth consumption is expected to increase fivefold per user over the next three years – and this is all driven by video," says Kelly.</p> <p><img alt="Watching Netflix phone" src="http://ift.tt/1E5oUDa" title="Watching Netflix is a primary reason to buy a bigger smartphone" width="420" /></p> <h3>What parts of the network are most affected?</h3> <p>The volume of video touches all parts of the IT infrastructure and the network. "The wide area network will experience the greater challenges due to cost and bandwidth constraints," says Lees, who thinks that techniques like bandwidth optimisation, Quality of Service (QoS), and path selection allow some respite for the 'under pressure' network manager.</p> <h3>How can networks cope?</h3> <p>The answer to video overload is simple; reduce the traffic or add more bandwidth. Both are unlikely, which brings two more options. "Providing an element of control-path selection can prioritise differing traffic types depending on importance," says Lees, who also suggests using WAN optimisation tools that can work into the cloud and application layer. "This is likely to provide the more cost effective and longer-term solution," he says.</p> <p>"By improving network agility and removing technology hurdles imposed by legacy network architectures, operators will have a solution which provides tremendous flexibility to efficiently support the evolving demands of users," says Kelly. "Advances in software, enabled by network functions virtualisation (<a href="http://ift.tt/1zFmENR">NFV</a>) and software defined networking (<a href="http://ift.tt/1wd3mCk">SDN</a>), will play an important role to automatically reallocate resources."</p> <p>Why are such advanced network architectures needed? Because, far from hitting a ceiling, video consumption figures are predicted to massively increase.</p> <h3>5G and 4K video</h3> <h3>Are 5G mobile networks imperative?</h3> <p>Yes and no. "4G makes streaming and watching videos on social networks far easier," says Shah. "Streaming video at an ultra-high speed is great, but video should also be able to be consumed and enjoyed on slower networks." She thinks that mobile networks and tech companies need to start working together to generate ways of making video creation and consumption more efficient, so less bandwidth-hungry.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://ift.tt/1xCNvyB">5 things you should know about 5G</a></li> </ul> <h3>Video compression or just shorter videos?</h3> <p>Video doesn't compress very well, but there are ways around bottlenecks. "A locally stored cache will help for business broadcasts – such as the CEO address to an organisation – as this will reduce the amount of traffic over the WAN," says Lees.</p> <p>However, could smarter, perhaps even automatic, editing of amateur videos be the answer? Shah thinks everyone should have software to create short, compelling videos. "We're currently developing big data to unlock the best parts of video footage, as well as making video more searchable," she says. "This, in itself, is a huge advancement in compression technology."</p> <p><img alt="The BBC iPlayer, YouTube and Netflix are the main bandwidth-hoggers" src="http://ift.tt/1E5oXiw" title="The BBC iPlayer, YouTube and Netflix are the main bandwidth-hoggers" width="420" /></p> <h3>Video's impact on smartphones</h3> <p>Smartphones are also affected – nobody wants a 'buffer-face'. With growing screen sizes and increased pixel density, most handsets are now purchased primarily to view video, from short clips on YouTube, through to longer episodes on iPlayer, or entire films on Netflix. According to Ofcom's 'Adults Media use and Attitudes Report 2014', 22% of mobile phone users have watched a TV programme on a mobile phone.</p> <p>"Video's impact on hardware can be just as great, even if those effects are usually concealed within the tight confines of our handsets," says Abby Francis, Mobile Tech Expert at Mobiles.co.uk, who thinks that video has had other, less obvious effects on smartphone technology. "With video being quite processor-intensive, it's not surprising to hear consumers complain about battery life," she says. "Although this hasn't resulted in longer battery life, it has helped to emphasise the importance of wireless charging and fast charging."</p> <h3>Could video kill off the written word online?</h3> <p>Video reviews, hasty pieces to camera and vod-casts could be dressed up as 'the future of the web', but the current resurgence of long-form articles kills that claim dead. However, video does offer a tempting 'out' for a crowded internet. "Attention spans are decreasing and with so much information bombarding us at all times, video is the medium that enables the transmission of large amounts of information quickly and succinctly," says Shah, who thinks that video content needs to be indexed and searchable for it to expand.</p> <h3>What about 4K video?</h3> <p>For those worried about how networks will cope with the current surge in video consumption, you ain't seen nothing yet. According to ACG Research, <a href="http://ift.tt/1AmRKdE">4K streaming</a> video services – which consume three to four times more bandwidth than HDTV – will grow from 2% in 2014 to 12% in 2018.</p> <p>"It's surprising to think that YouTube had support for 4K way back in 2010, but it will be interesting to see how video consumption trends change when 4K becomes more widespread throughout 2015," says Francis. Few smartphones have 4K displays, but that's not a deal-breaker; they're increasingly being used to stream HD content to larger screens.</p> <p>"It's not going to be the phone screen that's going to be the promoting factor in 4K," says Francis. "It's going to be what you want to do with videos captured on your phone in 4K, and how you distribute that media."</p> <p>The coming era of 4K means some agile thinking is in order. "Our networks need to be ready to evolve and support this surge in streaming if we are to successfully meet the requirements of users in this new age of the on-demand experience," says Kelly. "Agility is key to support high-bandwidth content on multiple devices via a multitude of means for different audiences."</p> <p>Shah thinks that the bottleneck presently exists between capturing and sharing content, and that all video needs is to be better indexed and searchable, but she's under no illusion about what happens next to the popularity of video, saying: "The real explosion is yet to come."</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://ift.tt/1E5oXiy">Why businesses must take note of the fact that mobile video is here to stay</a></li> </ul> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1IAQDvo" width="1" /><br clear='all' /> <img alt="" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1HcUVvF" width="1" /><br /> <br /> From <a href="http://ift.tt/yaGhNV">techradar</a><br /> <br /> from http://bit.ly/1QdylG0<br />

Is mounting video traffic going to break the internet?

Introduction and pressure on networks Two-thirds of all internet traffic is video, and the number of smart, mobile devices in the world wi...

Read more »