Hard drive docks are nothing new. They have been around for quite some time and we have reviewed a handful of them. The only thing that has really changed in the way of hard drive docks is the connections. When USB 3.0 came out we saw a new round of hard drive docks with the new, faster connection. So what is next for hard drive docks? Vantec seems to think WiFi is. It makes sense, we have so many wireless devices now with tablets and smartphones ruling our lives. So why not be able to access the information on any hard drive without having to have a USB connection on your device? This is where the NexStar WiFi Hard Drive Dock comes in. It is your normal hard drive dock supporting 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives and has a USB 3.0 connection, but it also has WiFi so you can use an iOS or Android device to connect to it and access your files. Let’s dive in!
Special thanks to Vantec for providing us with the NexStar WiFi Hard Drive Dock to review.
Specifications
| Model: | NST-D300WS3 |
| Device Support: | SATA I/II/III Hard Drive |
| Hard Drive Size: | 2.5″ & 3.5″ Hard Drive |
| External Interface: | USB 3.0 (Backwards compatible w/ USB 2.0 & 1.1) |
| Supported File System: | NTFS, FAT32 |
| System OS Support: | Windows XP, Vista, 7 & 8 Mac OS X 10.6 or higher |
| Mobile Device OS Support: | iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 4.0 & higher Android Phone Ver. 2.1 & higher Android Pad Ver. 3.0 & higher UPnP Compatible Devices |
| Wi-Fi Interface: | 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi AP Tethering Supported Wi-Fi Encryption: WEP/WPA/WPA2 Support WPS Up to 150Mbit Transfer Rate |
| iOS App Supported Media Format: | Video: h.264, .mov, .mp4, .mpv, .3gp, .m4v Photo: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .tif, .bmp, .tiff Audio: AAC, .mp3, .m4a, .aif, .wav Document: MS Office 97 or higher, .pdf, .rtf Supports “Open-In” Function |
| Android App Supported Media Format: | Video: h.264, .mp4,.3gp, .MPEG-TS, .mkv Photo: .jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .webp Audio: AAC, .mp3, .ota, .imy, .ogg, .rttl, .rtx, .wav |
| Material: | Plastic |
| Dimensions: | 136 x 83 x 87 mm |
Packaging
The NexStar WiFi Hard Drive Dock comes in a nice retail package that has a photo of the unit and lists some of the main features on the front. On the back there is a large description of the unit and a list of package contents.
Opening the package up everything is nicely packed inside. Getting everything out you have the NexStar WiFi dock, USB 3.0 cable, power cable and user’s manual.
For a full unboxing and quick overview of the NexStar WiFi check out our video below.
