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AirStash provides wireless, portable documents for iPhone and iPad
I've been using an AirStash (US$99.99) for about a week and have grown to like it very much. This tidy little device stores movies, music, documents and photos for portable, wireless sharing between iPhones and iPads. It allows you to stream those files via its own Wi-Fi network and share with colleagues, family and so on, all while saving space on your iDevices. In my experience it was easy to use and even passed the "keep my kids entertained during long road trip" test, which is crucial. Here's my look at the AirStash for iPhone and iPad. Design At 1.9 inches wide (47.8 mm) and 3.6 inches tall (92.0 mm) the AirStash is smaller than an iPhone 4. At the top is a single USB plug, which can be covered with a snap-on cap when not in use. %Gallery-128855% A single power button/indicator light (more on that later in this post) can be found on the front while an SD card slot is on the bottom. It weighs next to nothing at 1.5 ounces and will occupy just about any pocket without a problem. Plus, the construction feels solid enough that you needn't worry about the bumps and bruises it might incur during a typical day. I do have two design complaints. First, I couldn't figure out how to turn the AirStash off. The solution is to press and hold the power button for several seconds. I tried 2-3 seconds, but 5-7 seconds are required. My other complaint is that the SD card could be easier to remove. Once inserted, only a sliver protrudes from the AirStash. Those with fingernails will extract it with no problem, while the rest of us will wish for an eject button. Many users will leave the SD card alone once in place, but I'll describe a scenario later in this post that requires frequent card-swapping. For now, let's discuss adding files to the AirStash. Use - Adding Files Think of the AirStash as a USB card reader with benefits. Once you've added an SD card (up to 32 GB), plug the device into your Mac's USB port and it'll show up on the desktop. From there, treat it as you would any other USB flash drive. Create folders, add files, etc. Easy! I made folders for documents, movies, photos and podcasts. From there, all I had to do was drag-and-drop my stuff. It works well with Lion, too. Speaking of "stuff," what's supported? The short answer is, quite a bit. A partial list includes popular image formats (like .jpg and .gif) and document types from Word, Excel, Numbers, Pages and Keynote. You can also add AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV files plus H.264 video (up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels). Movies and music purchased from the iTunes store can be streamed from an AirStash with a few caveats. The short version is this: iTunes Plus files will stream w/no problems. Movies and TV shows purchased with DRM in place can be streamed as long as the account used to purchase the file is the same account that linked to the device. Also, the AirStash FAQ notes that you may have to sync your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iTunes to get this to work (not to sync the file, just to perform the sync), but that wasn't my experience. Finally, rented movies will not stream at all with an AirStash. You'll find more information on the AirStash and iTunes DRM here. Use - Viewing Files Earlier I called the AirStash a USB card reader with "benefits." That benefit is wireless media streaming, and it works very well indeed. To get started, you'll need the free, universal AirStash app. Once that's installed, press the AirStash's power button. A green indicator light flashes, indicating that it's created a network and is ready to share. Next, open the Settings app on your device and select Wi-Fi. You'll see the AirStash network on the list of those available. Tap it to join and then close Settings. Finally, launch the AirStash app. Right away you'll see the folders you created on the SD card when the AirStash was connected to your Mac. Tap any one to navigate, and then tap any file you'd like to view. For example, I opened up a PDF. The app has its own built-in viewer, which presents the file. You can scroll and zoom as you'd expect. There's a share button at the top of the page with options like the "Open in.." button, print and "Open in Dropbox." The movies feature works extremely well. I had a copy of Jumper to play with. It started streaming right away, and offered to pick up where I left off on subsequent viewings. It will also stream two movies to two different devices (and probably more, but I only tested two). This was super handy during that road trip I mentioned. Each of my kids could watch his/her own movie in the car; movies I didn't have to load onto my storage-challenged iPhone and iPad. We used our demo unit to steam movies for 5 hours before the battery finally died. In fact, that's where this device really shines for me. Imagine a road trip with this thing in the glove box, serving media to the gang...music, movies, etc. Everyone gets what they want and there's only a single device to sync before departure. Of course, there are business applications as well. Bring documents or presentations with you and share via a private network of associates. WEP encryption is available. Simply connect, open the AirAtash app, hit settings and then select a password. Another fun trick is rapid, on-the-spot photo transfer. Here's how to do it. Pop the SD card out of your camera and into the AirStash. Connect with your device and open up a photo. Tap the camera icon at the bottom of the screen. You'll see options to import that photo or the entire directory of photos right your device's camera roll. That's pretty cool, especially when you're away and everyone is shooting photos. Best of all, the AirStash is upgradeable and firmware updates are easy to apply. Conclusion The AirStash is a nice product. It allows you to have a portable library of up to 32 GB of documents on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch without using any of said devices' internal storage. Sharing with family or co-workers is easy and the thing is small and sturdy enough to handle everyday wear and tear. I can whole-heartedly recommend it for road trips (you'll get about 5 hours out of the battery in my experience) and imagine it'll serve business users well. TUAW policy is to return or donate all hardware provided for review. For more details, see our policy page.
Dave Caolo07.21.2011
AirStash wireless flash drive (and iOS app) review
We love ourselves extra storage as much as the next guy, and we also happen to hate cables as much the next guy, so whenever a device promises some extra wiggle room with no strings attached, we're all ears. The AirStash is a wireless flash drive that lets you expand the capacity of your mobile device up to 32GB at a time through swappable SD cards, freeing up local storage for apps and the like. We first got our paws on one back at CES, but now that it's a shipping product and has a finalized iOS app, we gave it a quick shakedown as promised to see whether this gadget is worth dipping into your personal stash for. %Gallery-124463%
Jacob Schulman05.26.2011
AirStash beta adds support for WebDAV and iPad apps
Not content with effectively adding unlimited storage to your iPhone and iPad, AirStash developer Wearable Inc. is introducing a public beta of the ability to read and write iWork files via WebDAV, making it easier to take your work with you wherever you go. AirStash is a WiFi-connected flash drive reader. You can connect to it via Safari from your portable device or plug it into a USB port on your main computer, allowing you to expand your iDevice's storage to as many SD cards as you can carry. It's a little expensive for a flash reader at US$99.99, and this new beta version of the software still has a few rough edges with regard to things like entering WEP keys and photo viewing. But if you're the sort of person who simply has to take your entire movie collection with you everywhere you go, it could be just the ticket.
Chris Ward02.18.2011
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%
Richard Lai01.06.2011
AirStash brings the WiFi, neglects the storage, for a cent under $100
When we last saw the AirStash, it was keeping its mystique about it and refusing to disclose any salient details beyond the fact that it'll function as a wireless SD/SDHC card reader. Today, the fog of war is lifted with the news that the AirStash is now officially on sale for $99.99, and will come with a battery good for five hours of continuous data streaming. Marketed primarily at iPhone OS devices, it creates a wireless network that allows any WiFi and browser-equipped computer to access the storage cards within it. The UI is built around HTML5 and recharging is done via a USB connection, which also turns the AirStash into a simple SDHC card adapter when plugged in. Check out our hands-on with it from CES over here and look for a full review coming up shortly. We do care so very deeply our portable storage.
Vlad Savov03.16.2010
AirStash wireless SD card reader hands-on
Just as CES is wrapping up, we managed to get some hands-on time with the AirStash wireless SD card reader, which is targeted at iPhone OS devices (but does work with other WiFi-enabled devices). Like many of the mysterious products from Vegas we have no price, release date or battery life, but what we do know now is that it's indeed very light (1.5 ounces), fits nicely in our hands and supports up to 32GB SDHC cards. As for wireless connection the AirStash acts as a WiFi 802.11b/g access point -- a cunning way to dodge the Apple dock connector license fees or the lack of Bluetooth profiles. Sadly, the prototype wasn't working properly due to "some RF interference," but as you can see above, the AirStash is accessed via a browser (UI design not final). Sure, this would mean you'd lose Internet connection via WiFi, but if the AirStash is cheap enough, then we'll live with it. Let's hope they hurry up with the release, though. %Gallery-82619%
Richard Lai01.11.2010
Airstash brings wireless storage to iPhone
In 2007 I thought that my 8GB iPhone was as large as I would ever need. Two and a half years later and I've already filled up the 16GB storage of my iPhone 3GS. Enter AirStash, an expandable flash drive (via SD memory) that you will be able to access from your iPhone. Simply plug AirStash into your Mac, drag and drop some files to the mounted volume, and head then out the door with AirStash and iPhone in your pocket. How the technology works is currently unclear (expect to see a demo at CES 2010), but a logical solution would be that AirStash automatically syncs its contents with an off-site server -- similar to what Dropbox does today. If it truly is as portable as that, it will obviate Dropbox's (and MobileMe's) need to install any client software if you are, for instance, using a friend's computer. Personally, I'd like to see Apple purchase Dropbox and turn MobileMe's cloud storage into something usable; but in the interim, I'm excited by the prospect that AirStash provides. [via Engadget]
Aron Trimble01.04.2010AirStash expands your iPhone's storage, wirelessly
You may be able to get your iPhones and iPod Touches in 32GB flavors these days, but what's an unlucky early adopter stuck with an 8GB model to do? Get an AirStash, maybe, a device that pledges to add wireless storage to those devices and, potentially, make internal storage constraints a thing of the past. It looks like an oversized thumb drive, with a USB plug on one end and an SD slot on the other. Charge it up, dump some content on that memory card, throw it in your pocket and, according to the manufacturer, you'll be able to connect to it wirelessly from your handset -- and your friends too, if you like. There are some obvious security concerns here but right now we're going to completely ignore those because of the potential for greatness here, which we hope to see in the flesh in the next few days.
Tim Stevens01.04.2010