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Introduction
In the mobile space, Kingston’s name has been relatively associated with portable wireless storage solutions meant to interact with our smartphones – so they’re able to supplement our voracious appetite for storage capacity. First, it was the Kingston Wi-Drive, and then it was the Kingston MobileLite Wireless soon after that. For a third try, Kingston seems to be making more of an evolutionary leap forward with its latest wireless storage solution in the Kingston MobileLite Wireless G2. Not only does it provide us with the functionality of transferring data, but it now packs on an assortment of additions that expand its function – like also being a portable battery charger and router.
The package contains:
- microUSB cable
- microSD card adapter
Design
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The design is practical, but at the same time, boring.
Being a 2nd generation model, the MobileLite Wireless G2 makes the usual iterative updates with its design, one that’s more uniform looking than its predecessor. We’ll say that its design isn’t the most profound thing with the unit, as it’s nothing more than a hollow feeling, rectangular plastic bodied thing. At first glance, it seems like it’s sporting a soft touch matte finish, but upon closer inspection, it’s just a simple matte black coating. For something that’s carrying along a 4640 mAh battery, it’s mightily lightweight – though, a bit hollow feeling towards the center.
Hugging the sides of the Kingston MobileLite Wireless G2 is a white plastic bezel, which features a wealth of ports and buttons that instantly indicates to us that it’s sort of this Swiss army knife utility tech gadget. Pressing down on the circular sized power button, the corresponding LED light turns on to tell us if there’s still some juice left in the battery (yellow color) or not (red). Pressing and holding it down, on the other hand, turns on the unit’s Wi-Fi signal – so we’re able to stream content to/from the unit. Naturally, the sole purpose of the microUSB port is to charge the device’s internal 4640 mAh battery.
On another side of the unit, there’s a full-sized USB port and SD card slot that enables us to connect USB flash drives and SD cards, so that content in them can be transferred. Better yet, there’s actually a way to connect and configure various USB broadband dongles/sticks to the MobileLite Wireless G2, where it can share the connection to other Wi-Fi enabled devices. Lastly, Kingston also throws in an Ethernet port to allow it to function as a portable router.
And for those of you wondering about maintaining data connectivity to your home’s Wi-Fi network, there’s a way to configure the MobileLite Wireless G2 to bridge the connection using the MobileLite app. Therefore, not only can we transfer data directly to the unit via a direct Wi-Fi connection, but we’re able to also retain the same data connection to our home Wi-Fi network.
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MobileLite app
Kingston’s MobileLite app is available for Android devices running version 4.0 and up, plus iOS 7+ devices as well. Using an HTC One M8, the MobileLite app for Android is pretty barren and bare-bones – so you could say that the visual presentation of the app needs some work, as its layout mimics that of any file directory app. From the main screen, we can select what content to view – whether it’s the stuff on our connected smartphone, or the content stored in a USB flash drive or SD card that’s connected to the MobileLite Wireless G2.
Using a direct Wi-Fi connection to the unit, the multimedia content from the device is able to load quickly on the app. In addition to viewing photos individually, there’s a slideshow mode that cycles through all of the content. The app itself also has the ability to make new folders, to provide us with better organization when it comes to transferring content.
Finally, the settings menu displays all of the relevant information regarding the MobileLite Wireless G2’s status – like its battery capacity and options to configure network security. This is also the place where we’re given the option to configure a USB connected mobile 3G dongle to it. Needless to say, the basic functionality matches the tepid layout of the app.
Performance
Sharing photos from a camera has never been easier.
Versatility is what the Kingston MobileLite Wireless G2 brings to the table, seeing that it’s useful for some many occasions. For example, we all know how much of a process it can be when we want to share a photo taken on our digital camera to any of our social networking accounts, but with the MobileLite Wireless G2, the process is done without the aid of a computer.
After taking our snapshots, we can pop in the SD card into the MobileLite Wireless G2, and from here, we can access what photos we want to copy to our smartphone – or simply share to Facebook, Twitter, or email. Again, it’s a practical thing that streamlines the process just a bit. Additionally, we can transfer multimedia content stored on our phone, like photos and videos, directly to either the flash drive or SD card that are connected to the MobileLite Wireless G2. Streaming videos from the unit is a pleasure too, since there’s minimal lag or sluggishness when streaming in real time.
Strangely, there’s no way of making multiple selections with the Android version of the MobileLite app, which means that it becomes a tedious process trying to transfer multiple content. Who knows why that’s the case, but we seriously hope they somehow get around to bringing this crucial, yet minor feature into the app.
Battery Life
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Easily get two full charges out your smartphone.
We did mention that the MobileLite Wireless G2 also acts as a portable battery backup, so it’s yet another thing that adds to its overall value. That’s because its 4640 mAh battery is impressively able to provide us two full charges on an iPhone 5s, which is more than enough to get even the more demanding user a solid day.
Conclusion
Kingston, they keep continuing to improve its wireless reader line – and it clearly shows here with the MobileLite Wireless G2. Indeed, it acts superbly as a device to transfer content to and from various storage mediums, but we appreciate how they’re able to continue adding some additional functionality to it as well. Not only does this year’s model improve with its battery life, but Kingston is also nice enough to include new options to give us more connectivity control to the unit – like making it act as a portable router. For almost the same price you’d fork over for an 8GB Eyefi Mobi card, the $60 priced Kingston MobileLite Wireless G2offers more value and features – all of which, of course, adds to its versatility.
PROS
- Quick and easy sharing of content wirelessly
- Portable battery provides excellent juice for on-the-go
- Ethernet port allows it to act as a portable router
CONS
- MobileLite app lacks the option to select multiple items for transfer
- Design is a bit on the bland side
