In the last couple of months, we’ve examined a number of ADATA’s external hard drives.
The DashDrive Air AE800 is a 500GB external hard drive and much more. Nearby Wi-Fi devices can wirelessly access files on the AE800, effectively making it a portable server that can stream video, audio, images, and documents to Android, iOS, Linux, and Windows devices. It can also function as a power bank for your mobile devices, thanks to its 5,200mAh battery and USB port. Lastly, the AE800 works as a Wi-Fi hotspot. This feature is ideal for sharing connectivity at any establishment that charges for Internet service on a per device basis.
The most interesting feature of the AE800 is its ability to wirelessly stream and share files This is especially useful when you consider how an extra 500GB of capacity could be used to supplement the local storage available to your Android or iOS devices. This way, you’re able to travel with large digital media collections and reduce the reliance on cloud services for media and remote file access.
Even better, you’ll have reliable access to the files stored on the AE800, ideal for locations where you can’t depend on Wi-Fi access or cellular connectivity.
With video, the AE800 supports up to 1080p streaming for as many as three users and 720p for a maximum of five users. File support varies by mobile OS, but in general, both the Android and iOS apps (download the DashDrive Air Elite app) support the most popular formats with photo, video, music, and document formats. For instance, the M4A, MP3, and WAV audio formats are supported for both iOS and Android. The AE800 supports 802.11/b/g/n and can deliver data at up to 300Mbps. PCs can wirelessly access the AE800 by joining the external drive’s wireless network. When plugged into a PC (using the included Micro-USB to USB cable), you’ll be able to access files via the external hard drive’s USB 3.0 port.
The AE800’s power bank function is simple to use. Just plug your USB-powered device into the unit’s standard USB port.
ADATA indicates that the Li-Polymer battery should provide two full charges for most smartphones. You can’t, however, use the power bank and wireless transfer capabilities at the same time.
When functioning as a wireless hotspot, the AE800 can share an Internet connection with up to eight devices. You can secure the AE800 with a WPA or WPA2 password to protect against unauthorized access.
We tested the DashDrive Air using SiSoftware Sandra 2014 Lite’s storage tests.
We connected the external hard drive to our motherboard’s USB 3.0 port. In the Physical Disk test, the portable hard drive produced a read speed of 89.65MBps second, and we saw a random access time of 13.57ms. We also ran the File System I/O benchmark, which tests the drive for transfer speeds with different file sizes. In the 64KB files test, we saw a read performance of 26.34MBps and a write performance of 28.15MBps. Moving up to the 16MB files test, the AE800 produced a read speed of 62.79MBps and a write speed of 64.12MBps.
If you’re a traveler and need an easy way to share data and/or recharge your mobile devices, the DashDrive Air AE800 is a good investment. The wireless hotspot capability could also save you some money if a hotel charges you for every device you connect to the Internet. What more could you want from an external hard drive?
