INTRODUCTION

   With tablet sales increasing every day it was just a matter of time for most manufacturers out there to turn their focus towards that segment of the market to try and get a piece of the pie. Some manufacturers have introduced new tablet models others have further improved the entire tablet concept while others have just been offering compatible peripherals (so far). Kingston was amongst the first to do so with their quite successful wi-drive line a while ago but much like most first attempts there was something missing. True you could use it as a wireless WiFi storage drive but it came with limited storage capacity and at the end of the day it offered just that. Well Kingston has always liked to listen to what their buyers have to say/recommend and so they just recently launched an updated version of the Wi-Drive called the MobileLite Wireless (MLW221) which we've been testing for slightly over a week with very positive results.

   Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s independent memory leader. Founded in 1987 with a single product offering, Kingston® now offers more than 2,000 memory products that support nearly every device that uses memory, from computers, servers and printers to MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones. In 2009, the company's sales reached $4.1 billion. With global headquarters in Fountain Valley, California, Kingston employs more than 4,000 people worldwide. Regarded as one of the “Best Companies to Work for in America” by Fortune magazine, Kingston’s tenets of respect, loyalty, flexibility and integrity create an exemplary corporate culture. Kingston believes that investing in its people is essential, and each employee is a vital part of Kingston’s success. Kingston serves an international network of distributors, resellers, retailers and OEM customers on six continents. The company also provides contract manufacturing and supply chain management services for semiconductor manufacturers and system OEMs.

   The first thing you will notice when looking at the MobileLite Wireless is that this time over Kingston has used a somewhat less "fancy" chassis compared to the previous Wi-Drive line something which may disappoint people, iPad/iPhone users in particular. The MobileLite Wireless also comes without any kind of interior storage memory and instead you will need to use either your own SD/Micro SD card or a USB stick (something which is a lot more convenient if you ask me). However instead of a fancy exterior and a built-in storage memory Kingston has given the MobileLite Wireless three very useful features, first you can use the units internal 1800mAh Lithium Polymer battery to recharge your portable devices while on the road, second you can share your files simultaneously with up to three different devices and third you can also connect onto the internet via a Wi-Fi spot (or your router obviously) without first having to disconnect from it (just like an range extender). All these sound great but let's see how they translate in real life use.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The MobileLite wireless gets shipped inside a very small box with its main features listed at the front.

If you decide you need help setting up the device you can call the number shown on the left side (as you will see later on that's not necessary).

At the rear we see the units features printed in 11 languages.

Inside the box you will find the MobileLite Wireless, USB cable (used for charging and transfer of files), micro SD adapter, getting started guide and a warranty/information paper.

THE MOBILELITE WIRELESS

The housing of the MobileLite Wireless is made out of hard plastic and measures 18mm in height, 126mm in length and 60mm in width.

On the lower far left of the unit we see three activity LEDs one for the battery condition, one for when the Wi-Fi is on and one when the device is connected to another device.

The SD Card slot is placed on the front of the MobileLite Wireless.

At the rear we see the USB charging port and the micro-USB charging port for the device itself.

Information about the device can be found at two stickers placed at its base.

Size always plays a part when purchasing a mobile device so i think it would be nice to see just how larger the MobileLite Wireless compared to a smartphone.

USING THE MOBILELITE WIRELESS

Once you download and install the MobileLite Wireless app either from the AppStore or the Play Store (android/iOS compatible versions available) the several instruction screens will come up.

Once you connect your device with the MobileLite Wireless you will be given the option to choose between the local smartphone memory or the shared card reader/USB stick.

After that you just need to click on the file you want to use and let the application do the rest.

CONCLUSION

   Although certainly far from what I’d ever call groundbreaking the latest MobileLite Wireless by Kingston does offer a more wealthy set of features compared to the original Wi-Drive and in the end i think that's what will attract most potential buyers. So not only are you getting a wireless card/USB reader which can throw your android/iOS compatible devices basically as much storage space and data as you want but you can also use it to charge your smartphone while away from power sockets and you can also use it as a Wi-Fi range extender. Of course the internal battery is hardly enough to recharge most of the latest smartphones but it could keep it operational until you can find a socket (it did manage to charge my Huawei Honor almost 80%). Using it as a Wi-Fi range extender (although it's not a feature it's possible) may not do just as good as with regular range extenders but it works so as long as you are getting an extra feature for no extra cost that's fine by me. Now we did think about measuring the speed between the MobileLite Wireless and the Wi-Fi devices we used like the Huawei Honor but none of the apps we used was able to do that. We could test it as a regular card reader but on one hand that's not its job and on the other it's a USB 2.0 device so it wouldn't make any sense doing so.

   Unlike the original Wi-Drive the new MobileLite Wireless is aggressively priced (expected since it has no internal memory) and the current price tag of USD59.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 50Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) leaves you quite a bit of room to either purchase the amount of storage space you want in the form of a Micro SD card/USB Flash Drive or to just use what you already got without having to spend more in the process (who doesn't have at least one USB flash drive?). Now i would like to see a far larger battery in capacity so it could also be used to charge devices a lot more but that's something that may come in future versions. Personally i can't say that i use my smartphones or tablets for many different purposes since i like to keep things simple (i have computers for the really complicated stuff) but the MobileLite Wireless can really come in handy and since it doesn't really have any serious drawbacks it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Size
- Streams Data From SD Cards And USB Flash Drives
- Internal 1800mAh Li-Polymer Battery (Can Also Be Used To Charge Other Devices)
- Simultaneous Connection To Up To 3 Devices
- Partial Use As An Wi-Fi Range Extender
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Design (Compared To The Wi-Drive)
- No Internal Memory (For Some)