Miscelleneous by stefan @ 2013-05-16
For users on the go, ADATA has created a new multifunctional device which acts as a wireless AP, USB storage drive or card reader and as an extra it also functions as a power bank, to recharge the tablet/mobile phone when we need it most.
At first we would like to thank ADATA for offering a sample of their DashDrive Air AE400 Wireless Storage Reader and Power Bank for testing and reviewing.
About ADATA:
"The Leading Memory Brand with the Most Award-Winning Product Designs
Founded in May, 2001 by Chairman and CEO Mr. Simon Chen, ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. is committed to providing the ultimate memory solutions that enrich customers’ digital life with strong belief in integrity and professionalism. With DRAM modules as its initial product focus, ADATA soon recognized the market’s trend and diversified its product portfolio to include Flash application and data storage solutions. Backed by its technical expertise, state-of-the art manufacturing facilities, and premium customer services, ADATA offers complete memory solutions including DRAM Module, USB Flash Drive, Memory Card, Solid State Drive and Portable Hard Drive; and has quickly risen to become the world’s leading provider of memory modules and Flash application products with a 2nd largest share in DRAM modules and 3rd in Flash Application products (iSupply, May 2010).
ADATA understands that professionalism and innovation drive a company’s competitiveness as well as the value of its products and services in the market. ADATA’s strict execution requires performing at the highest standards as it relates to ID design, purchasing and supply chain management (raw materials), manufacturing processes and quality control and testing. Through constant innovation and development of products that exceed customer expectations, ADATA has won many of the most recognized international awards including the National Silver Award of Excellence in Taiwan, Japan’s G-MARK (Good Design Award), CES Innovations Award in the US and iF Design award and reddot design award in Germany.
A Young Enterprise with Remarkable Growth
Although ADATA started with twenty employees only in 2001, the founder, Mr. Simon Chen and the senior management team have extensive memory-related industry experience in manufacturing and global sales, as well as the passion and energy to instill extraordinary corporate values as the foundation of the company. These values consist of integrity, fairness, honesty, perseverance, ingenuity, harmony, love and innovation. All these factors help contribute to remarkable and consistent year-on-year revenue and profit growth, allowing ADATA to achieve 1 billion sales turnover within the first ten year.
When ADATA first started in 2001, there were only 20 employees. But ADATA was a small company with big dreams. Committed to become a world leading provider in DRAM memory and Flash application products, ADATA soon distinguished itself from the competition by its profession, industry know-how, and eye-catching product design.
Perfection through Non-stop Improvement
Despite its impressive achievement, ADATA is determined to outperform itself. In 2010, ADATA began the process of rebuilding brand, and adopted the hummingbird as its corporate icon and an auxiliary symbol of ADATA’s corporate culture, in order to effectively enhance its competitiveness in the international marketplace as well as to prepare the company for the next decade.
The new logo conveys a more modern design that represents consistency, while retaining the foundation of ADATA’s technical background with the traditional corporate color in blue.
The hummingbird incorporates key design elements that reflect our culture, vision for the future and our commitment to become a global brand. The Hummingbird’s agility suggests that ADATA is highly responsive to market and consumer demands; its swiftness demonstrates leading innovation and productivity in the industry; its exploring nature signifies our determination to pursue all possibilities; and the color and modern design reflects the exciting and dynamic characteristics of ADATA’s brand.
Strong Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility
Realizing its social responsibility, ADATA takes extra care in the selection of key memory components, complies with stringent manufacturing specifications and quality inspection processes, and has passed the ISO14001 certification on environmental management, as well as the EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, thus providing stable, compatible and high-performance memory products. This allows ADATA to fulfill its corporate social responsibility (CSR) at a time the company is pursuing rapid growth, putting emphasis on both protecting our earth and sustaining a green enterprise.”
Wireless Access to USB Storage Devices
As a storage reader, the AE400 permits for wireless data transfer between mobile devices and SD card, USB flash drive, or portable HDD(FAT32, exFAT). It supports up to 3 users simultaneously streaming 1080P video, or up to 5 users simultaneously streaming 720p video.
Mobile Power Source
As smartphones and tablet computers continue to replace traditional desktop systems in worldwide markets, wireless network availability and power charging sources become omnipresent requirements.
The built-in power bank has a capacity of 5000 mAh, which translates to a charging capacity of two full charges for an iPhone 4S.
Share Existing Internet Connections
The AE400 can connect to existing wireless networks and create an internet bridge connection. Through this hot spot, 10 other devices can connect to the internet through the AE400.
Visually Striking Exterior
With an eye-catching design, the surface of the AE400 gleams with a modern, hexagonal lattice pattern. Its outstanding combination of functions- wireless AP, USB storage & card reader, and power bank, makes the DashDrive Air AE400 an extremely versatile and multifunctional addition that can reduce the number of electronic accessories needed for full data access on the road. With the DashDrive Air AE400, fashion starts with versatile simplicity.
Free Download of iOS and Android Apps
The DashDrive Air AE400 uses Samba/WebDAV streaming protocol to provide data transfer and sharing, providing devices (iOS/Android/Windows/OS X/Linux) with wireless access to a SD Card, USB Flash Drive, or Portable HDD. The DashDrive Air Elite App (for users of iOS 5.0 & Android 2.3 or later versions) is free for download from both the Apple App Store and Google play.
With the DashDrive Air, ADATA has stepped into another range of products, this time for mobile products. The item we will review in this article comes with the AE400 code name and is shipped inside a small packaging, with a transparent plastic window:
If we look a bit on the sides of the box, we will find some shots of the lateral views, but also some QR codes which can be scanned in order to reach the designated App Store or Google Play apps:
On the back side of the packaging we will learn more details on the product, in multiple languages:
As we have been accustomed with ADATA, the package comes fully sealed:
After removing the outside packaging, we will find the actual product sitting in a transparent plastic mold, along with an USB cable accessory and also a product manual:
The AE400 features a modern design (hexagonal lattice pattern) on the top cover, with some additional LEDs which let us know of the current operating mode:
The laterals of the product are made from a shiny black plastic; because of that, the manufacturer has covered the product with a transparent plastic film, for avoiding scratches during transport:
If we remove the protection, we will reveal one USB port used for charging the AE400, and a secondary USB port for connecting the devices we want to have charged and also storage devices. A Reset button hole is also available here:
The opposite side comes with a SD card reader:
By looking carefully in the indicator area, we will find (from left to right):
-Power/Charge Display Light
-USB/Card Reader indicator
-Power Bank Indicator
-Wireless Signal Indicator
The bottom side of the AE400 shows a sticker with a product serial number:
The operating modes can be switched by using the lower button, on the top surface:
When charging the product, we will see the battery LED indicator switching colors, until it will become green (which indicates a charge state between 50 and 100%):
The User Guide cover comes with a hint, that we must charge the Power Bank for about 8 hours before the first use:
The manual will also explain in detail the operating modes and how to configure the device wirelessly:
As we have mentioned before, the DashDrive Air AE400 is a multifunctional device and we can switch between the multiple operating modes by pressing the top button. The operating modes are the following:
-Wireless Transfer
-Power Bank
-Wireless Transfer + Power Bank (only applicable to SD Cards)
When the Wireless Transfer mode is active, we will be able to see on our mobile phones or PC/Mac a newly created network, to which we can connect easily:
The AE400 will show itself as a computer inside the Network section, allowing us to browse the files on our SD card or any other storage device we have connected to it:
In order to access the configuration page, we can open any browser and access the following address: http://192.168.99.1:80 . The default user/password are admin/admin:
Afterwards we will be greeted by a simple interface, allowing us to perform modifications to the device. From here we can also adjust the internal date/time, the administrator password, restart the device, upgrade the firmware, shutdown or restore the settings to factory default:
If we do not want other people to connect to our newly created network in order to access the files, we can secure it with a password; in the same menu we can choose the Wireless channel:
The AE40 can also connect to an existing network with Internet access and function as a range extender on battery; for this we must enable the Internet Access option:
The detected networks will show up on the screen:
The DashDrive Air Elite application for Android will let us use all the functions of the product. On the main screen, we can choose to browse all the files on the storage device or by type:
If we choose to browse all the files at once, we will be shown the entire file system structure:
In case we want to browse a certain type of files like Music or Photos, we will need to wait a little for the indexing procedure to be completed:
Here we have an example of some indexed audio files:
If we click one of the files, the playback will start immediately:
From the same application we can access the configuration interface:
Since the smartphones/tablets have populated the market we have met with multiple situations when we were almost out of battery because we have forgotten to charge the specific device or simply another application is using too much juice. ADATA comes in to help with their DashDrive Air AE400 that is surely an interesting multifunctional device, which supports charging, can act as a range extender for other networks with Internet access and will also help us access resources on storage devices like USB Flash Drives, portable HDDs/SSDs or SD cards.
The product is easy configurable if we follow the written instructions and can read/write data on FAT32 or exFAT partitions. If we have USB Flash Drives or external HDDs formatted NTFS, we are out of luck, unless we revert them to a supported type; hopefully ADATA will come with an updated firmware which will also support NTFS partition types.
With an USB external HDD connected to the AE400, we have performed some transfer speed tests:
Copy to drive
Read from drive
The ADATA DashDrive AE400 can be found online for about 60 Euros.
We would like to thank again to ADATA for making this review possible!