Toshiba has announced the availability of two new products today that are certainly  interesting. Not because they are wildly insane, but because they both offer up solutions for storage hungry users and Chromecast lovers.
The first of the two devices is the Toshiba Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive. This wirelesss drive packs in 1TB of storage on the go and is accessible by 6 devices at one time. Â The drives battery is listed for 5 hours of continuous usage once charged up. Toshiba states the transfer rates are up to 150Mbps when connected wirelessly or up to 5Gbps when directly plugged in via USB 3.0. Yes, this can also double as a hardlined external drive as well and is said to be compatible with the major players like Windows and Mac, but Linux is not listed anywhere.
The drive also offers up a standard SD card slot. In this case it isn’t used for additional storage, but you could if you needed I suppose. It is more geared towards being able to quickly access, and give access to others, your photos and videos that you may just taken with your DSLR or other devices that use a standard full size SD card. As well as a quick way to offload those images to the drive to free up more card space.
Probably the more important aspect of the drive, beyond the fact it is 1TB and wireless, is that the companion app that was built for it offers up Chromecast support. This gives the AeroCast a leg up on the previous AeroMobile wireless SSD that I reviewed a while back, and cuts the need for a third-party app to cast with.
In addition to the announcement of the AeroCast, Toshiba also announced the new Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter. The Cast Wireless adapter is just that, an adapter that you connect to your external hard drive and allows you to access it wirelessly from Android or iOS devices.
This one will be handy for those that already have an external hard drive that they use frequently, or want to use more often and in more ways. Simply connecting the wireless adapter to it will let up to 6 other device access the files. Just like the above AeroCast, the Cast Wireless adapter is also Chromecast ready. Oddly enough though, the Cast Wireless Adapter is only USB 2.0, not USB 3.0. I imagine it should cast your streams just fine, but a 3.0 interface would have made more sense on the speed side of things.
Both devices are up for order through Toshiba starting today. The Canvio AreoCast is sitting at $219.99 with a shipping date of December 12th, while the Cast Wireless Adapter is $79.99Â and won’t start shipping until December 30th.
Press release below
TOSHIBA’S NEW CANVIO® AEROCASTâ„¢ WIRELESS HDD CHANGES THE WAY DIGITAL CONTENT IS EXPERIENCED ON A TV
Latest Solution Allows Consumers to Play Personal Digital Content Freely with No Cables Attached
IRVINE, Calif. — December 11, 2014 — Toshiba’s Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today introduced the Canvio AeroCastâ„¢ Wireless Hard Drive, an innovative device that blends the benefits of high-capacity external storage with the ultimate in wireless freedom. Users can connect to their Chromecastâ„¢ device (sold separately) to experience their personal digital content such as movies, music and photos – by downloading Toshiba’s Google Castâ„¢ Ready app[i] to cast entertainment from the Canvio AeroCastâ„¢ Wireless Hard Drive to an HDTV. The 1TB[ii] Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive is a fast and reliable all-in-one device that helps manage storage needs wirelessly.
“Storage needs are changing. By understanding the importance of mobility, we have taken storage to the next level. With integrated wireless capabilities, we empower our users to share and stream their personal digital content the way they want, wirelessly,†said Maciek Brzeski, vice president, Branded Storage, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. “The Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive fills a real need for consumers – they’re now able to enjoy the content that they own, wirelessly on the home television.â€
Users can easily upload and back up content from their mobile devices[iii] directly to the Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive for secure[iv], centralized storage. Instant access is available to stored files through the device’s own local Wi-Fi® connection (no Internet required). The Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive has a battery life of up to five hours[v] and can connect simultaneously with up to six devices, making accessing and sharing files from the digital library easier than ever.
Also announced today, the Canvio Cast™ Wireless Adapter, extends the usefulness of existing hard drives, letting users wirelessly upload, share, download and stream their stored digital library from the hard drive to any connected mobile device.6,7 The Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter is compatible with iPad®, iPhone®, and Android™ mobile devices.6
The release of the Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive and Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter expands Toshiba’s portfolio of wireless products, which is aimed at satisfying a broad range of customer needs. Previously announced were the Canvio® Wireless Adapter and Canvio AeroMobileâ„¢ Wireless SSD, which are both now on sale.
Toshiba has been providing storage solutions worldwide since 1967 and has more than 47 years of experience developing storage offerings that complement our comprehensive ecosystem of devices. Leveraging an annual $3.1 billion investment in research and development, Toshiba continues to push the boundaries of storage technology to meet customers’ needs.
Pricing and Availability
The 1TB Canvio AeroCast will be available for purchase at select retailers and on toshiba.com/us/ for $219.99 MSRP8 beginning on December 11, 2014. The Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter will be available for purchase at select retailers and on toshiba.com/us/ for $79.99 MSRP beginning on December 11, 2014
