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Seagate releases GoFlex Satellite firmware update: improved battery life, WiFi passthrough
There's nothing quite like under-promising and over-delivering, and it seems that we've got just that scenario in the case of this here rumor-turned-reality. After hearing that Seagate was planning to update the firmware on its GoFlex Satellite streaming hard drive, the company has indeed released version 1.3.5.015 today, a 51MB file that makes quite a few succulent changes. For one, it improves battery life (from five hours to seven), and it also "lifts the restriction on the number of devices that can connect to the drive at one time." Lastly (and perhaps most importantly), it provides a pass-through for internet access when connected to the drive. As you'd expect, the new bits and bytes are available gratis, and they can be downloaded there in the source link.
Transcend's StoreJet Cloud packs inbuilt WiFi, streams media to iOS devices
Yeah, Seagate's GoFlex Satellite and Kingston's Wi-Drive already have this market on lock, but you won't find us kvetching about a healthy dose of competition. Transcend has just outed yet another product in its growing StoreJet lineup, with the StoreJet Cloud stopping by the FCC for a cursory glance prior to being formally revealed here in the States. We're betting it'll get an official reveal next week at CES, where it'll offer wireless media streaming to (at least) iOS devices via an associated app. It looks as if streaming to traditional web browsers will also be supported at launch, with Android support following shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, it also looks like pricing is apt to keep this thing away from the masses, with a paltry 64GB model rumored to run $300.
AirStash wireless flash drive with media streaming and WebDAV update hands-on (video)
Remember our good friends from AirStash at last year's CES? Well, this year they're back with the same wireless storage dongle, but now bolstered with a new firmware and smarter ways of transferring files to and from your mobile devices. As before, the AirStash is essentially an SD card reader that can be accessed as an ordinary USB storage device, or a basic read-only file server via WiFi tethering, meaning the host device doesn't require a card reader or a USB host. Upon requests from many users, AirStash is now finalising an HTML5-based web app and a free native iOS app, both of which offer in-app image browsing and media streaming, including HD videos and Apple DRM content on iOS (associated with the appropriate Apple ID, of course). What really surprised us was the claim that the AirStash's minuscule 600mAh cell can do streaming for around five hours, regardless of the media type. That said, we were only given a demo with a standard-definition video clip, and even that took about 25 seconds to buffer over 802.11g WiFi, so you can imagine how many sunsets you might see while waiting for an HD clip to load. With about a full month away from release, AirStash thinks it can push the loading speed up in time for launch, so we shall see. Read on to see the other new features. %Gallery-112884%
