All in One

Friday, October 26, 2012

Review: Transcend StoreJet Cloud

PortableGood media playback with supported filesFair priceOnly USB 2.0Unsupported file types won't play

While some smartphones and tablets are happy to enable you to increase their capacities by inserting SD cards and the like, if you've got something such as an iPad or iPhone, then upgrading your memory is a far more expensive procedure. The prices being mooted for the rather modest jump from the 16GB to the 32GB iPhone 5 can be eye wateringly expensive.

The idea behind the Transcend StoreJet Cloud is that you can load it up with files you can't fit on your smartphone or tablet, and then connect it to your mobile device via Wi-Fi, where you can access and play back files.

It also has a wireless bridge mode, to connect to your wireless internet. It's a nice touch that enables you to browse the internet on your smartphone or tablet, while it's also connected to the Transcend StoreJet Cloud.

At first the drive acts like a standard USB drive, since you plug it into your PC and copy your files over. While the solid state drive inside the Transcend StoreJet Cloud is a welcome feature, it only supports USB 2.0, so transferring over large amounts of data can take a while.

An app is available for iOS or Android devices that enables you to browse the files after you've connected your phone to the Transcend StoreJet Cloud's Wi-Fi.

It's an easy process, and though there was some lag when browsing our files, it worked alright for photos. We could swipe between photos, and after a slight pause the photo would appear.

Video playback is also good, as long as the files you have are in the right format - otherwise problems occur. Still, there's a wide enough range of file types supported.

We've seen products similar to this in the Kingston Wi-Drive and the Seagate GoFlex Satellite, which fell short of our expectations. While the Transcend StoreJet Cloud is sometimes hit and miss, mainly this is a solid product that comes far closer to reaching its lofty goal of wirelessly expanding our smartphone and tablet's capacities at a reasonable price.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Review: Transcend StoreJet 35T3

Big capacityQuick backup buttonWell builtUSB 3.0 interfaceIncluded software is a bit basicCheaper options

We've always liked Transcend's products, especially the Transcend StoreJet 25M3 external hard drive. Where that one had a durable case that kept the drive inside secure from drops and knocks, the focus of the Transcend StoreJet 35T3 USB 3.0 External Hard Drive is quick and secure data backup.

The secure side of things is taken care of with tried and tested 256-bit AES security that will keep your important files under lock and key and away from prying eyes.

The backing up side of things is taken care of with a combination of the TranscendElite software and a dedicated 'Backup' button on the front of the drive that when pushed begins backing up your files to the external hard drive.

The button itself is a great idea, since it makes the backing up process - one that can so easily be overlooked in our day-to-day computing - very simple.

You can also set the drive to automatically back up your files and folders via the TranscendElite software by adding a schedule, but if your PC isn't on at the specific time, the ability to press the button and back up straight away when you remember is very convenient.

The TranscendElite software itself is rather basic, with very little frills, but it was relatively straightforward to set up a back-up procedure.

Overall the Transcend StoreJet 35T3 is a well-made, and fast (if you're using USB 3.0) external hard drive, with some good backup options. The 2TB of space (3TB is also available) is a huge amount that can hold a lot of your documents.