WiDRIVE Hard Drive Enclosure Integrates Laptop Hard Drives with WiFi
By David Walker |
March 14th, 2006
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Engadget, in their CeBIT coverage, came across an interesting, if somewhat questionable solution for external storage: the WiDRIVE from EDS Lab. On the surface, the WiDRIVE sounds absolutely brilliant. The hard disk enclosure for 1.8″ and 2.5″ laptop drives features an integrated 802.11b/g WiFi adapter with a battery capable of powering the wireless connection for 2 hours of use. In fact, EDS claims that Windows can even be booted from one of these drives, since it is seen as a regular disk drive once connected.
However, with 802.11g speeds maxing out at 54Mbps, you’re not going to be streaming HD content from this drive to your PC. It may work well for music and pictures and as a wireless backup solution, but I just can’t see it working as a full featured external drive solution. That said, the idea is original and does eliminate the need for wires and could find a niche market until Wireless USB hits the market in force. The enclosure is expected to hit Europe around July for about $95, hard drive sold separately.
Filed in: Peripherals