Goflex satellite how does it work

If you have an iPad and want to carry a large digital content library on the go, the GoFlex Satellite--with an included car charger--also makes an excellent storage extender for your tablet.

As an external hard drive, the GoFlex Satellite is so similar to the GoFlex Ultra-portable--both in the physical look and functionality--that it would be redundant to go into details about how it works. In a nutshell, like the rest of the drives in Seagate's GoFlex family of portable hard drives, the drive comes in two parts: the hard drive and the adapter. The hard drive is basically just a 2.

These two parts can be snapped onto each other and fit tightly to form the GoFlex Satellite external hard drive. The drive supports USB 3. It also comes with a second separate power cable that can draw power from a USB port of a computer or the included car charger and wall power adapter. While other GoFlex portable drives always need the second adapter part to work, the GoFlex doesn't.

It has a built-in wireless-N access point, to which up to three wireless devices can connect. Once connected, if the client has a full-feature Internet browser, it can then browse and stream digital content, including music, photos, and movies stored on the drive. For the best streaming experience, however, you'll need to use a laptop or most preferably an iPad.

Seagate bundles the Satellite with an iPad app called "GoFlex Media"--also works with the iPhone or iPod Touch--which can do the browsing and streaming much better than via the Internet browser. The app can also download selected content from the GoFlex Satellite drive onto the iPad so that you can access them without having to use the drive, or when the drive is out of battery. Note that the downloaded content can only be played and viewed via the GoFlex Media app, it can't be integrated into the iPad's library.

All you have to do is connect the iPad to this network and run the GoFlex Media app. The rest is self-explanatory: the content is organized into categories, including Video, Music, Photo, and Documents, or you can also choose to browse them by folders. The device can stream basically all content supported by the iPad including videos H. To get content on the GoFlex Satellite drive, the fastest way is to connect it to a computer and use it as an external hard drive.

The device then automatically detects and organizes new streamable content in to the respective categories to make them available to the GoFlex Media app. Alternatively, if you connect a computer to the GoFlex Satellite's Wi-Fi network, you can also upload content via the Web browser, though this way is much slower. The GoFlex Satellite's Wi-Fi network can support just three wireless clients at a time, which is very limited. Seagate says that this can be changed later via a firmware update and the reason for this is to ensure the bandwidth for a good streaming experience.

Another drawback is the fact that the device can't work with an existing Wi-Fi network, or even a wired network to offer access to the Internet at the same time. For now, iPad owners have to pick either to connect to it, and stream media, or to another wireless network to gain access to the Internet.

For this reason, for now, if you want to have access to both at the same time, you'll need an iPad that has 3G support. Seagate says that it plans to make the device also work as a Wi-Fi extender via a firmware update.

Yes No. Secure your information by backing up the operating system, applications, settings, and all your data—as well as erasing it securely. This driver provides write access for Seagate external drives in Mac OS without having to reformat. Supported on Intel based Mac's only. Seagate Partner Program Portal Provides access to product training, sales and marketing resources, deal registration, and more to our VARs, Integrators, Resellers and other channel partners.

Seagate Supplier Portal Provides Suppliers with self-service tools targeted to the needs of their business. Lyve Management Portal Register, access, and manage Lyve Mobile services, subscriptions and projects.

Consumer Portal View registered products, register new products, and find product specific support. My Dashboard View your dashboard. Logout Logout of your account. Compared to Kingston, Seagate has more software compatibility out of the gate, already supporting Android devices through a native app.

Right now Kingston only offers iOS support, although they have mentioned they have plans to release an Android app in the future for the Wi-Drive. Both devices offer similar capabilities when it comes to streaming media with Seagate having a huge lead on storage capacity with a GB hard drive inside compared to 16 or 32GB of the flash-based Wi-Drive. Against the Hitachi G-Connect, the Satellite offers an included battery, but does give up the Internet sharing via Ethernet port that Hitachi offers.

The Seagate GoFlex Satellite offers a massive GB of storage capacity to stream even the largest of media collection on the road or in the air traveling, without needing to be tethered to a power outlet. Discuss This Review. Inside the StorageReview Lab evaluating products and working with industry leaders to develop new testing environments. At home I'm raising a family. Top Posts. Consumer Portable Storage.

Conclusion The Seagate GoFlex Satellite has a lot to offer with its high capacity, fast transfer speeds, and trusted in-house Seagate hard drive inside.

Kevin OBrien Inside the StorageReview Lab evaluating products and working with industry leaders to develop new testing environments. All rights reserved. Share via. Facebook Messenger.