Well, there are drawbacks to this design. First and foremost, data transfer rate is abysmal compared to the normal USB transfer rate. USB allows very quick data rates, while a wireless external hard drive is severely limited by the fact that each “packet” of information must be sent one by one in sequence. There’s currently no “paralleling” available for packeted information sent over a wireless system. It’s much like your internet: You only get data as fast as your bandwidth allows. The same is true for wireless hard drives. Keep that in mind before you buy.
The Iomega 33349 StorCenter is one of the most capable and popular wireless drives on the market today. This is actually a hard drive that plugs in directly to your router or switch, and is not a standalone system with its own receiver attached. However, the function is basically the same. Any computer (be it a laptop, desktop, smart phone, etc.) can access the drive on that local network whenever the hard drive is actually hooked up. This actually affords a bit more security than if you were to have it available to the public. Wannabe hackers must first get into your personal network, THEN break into your router. This fixes that.
ASUS actually produces their “Asus Wireless Storage Router,” which operates very much the same as the Iomego, except that the ASUS is accessible to the public, and isn’t actually protected behind a DMZ. This does at least add a bit of ease of use, but security may be a concern for those who require a bit more in terms of keeping their data safe. However, should you not want to use this function, this wireless network hard drive allows you to plug straight into it with an Ethernet cable.
All in all, you can’t go wrong with either of these. Good luck!
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