ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 Review

Manufacturer: ADATA Technology Co., Ltd.
Product Name: DashDrive Air AE400
Model Number: AAE400-CBKSV
UPC: 4713435796801
Price As Tested: $79.99 (Newegg / Amazon)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by ADATA.

The ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 enters the ring against a slew of devices aimed at giving more functionality to you for your mobile devices. With the expanding market for smartphones, tablets, and other portable computing devices, it is becoming increasingly more important to keep that battery charged all day long and to stay connected to everything we deem important.

As we use our mobile devices for more and more, those batteries that once seemed huge suddenly start to drain very quickly. I spend quite a bit of time on my phone. I use it mainly for emailing and communications, but I also keep up with my social networks and play some games. My phone battery doesn't generally last an entire day. My wife is even worse. She lets the kids play on her phone a lot and that drains the battery even more quickly. She generally has to charge her phone sometime in the afternoon so that it doesn't die on her. If she is out and about, that isn't always possible.

The other thing she complains about is that she constantly runs out of space on her phone due to all the pictures and videos she takes. Her iPhone has 8GB of storage and, as an iPhone, has no capability to increase that from an SD card. She connects her phone to the computer and downloads the photos and videos quite often, but then they aren't on her phone and available for viewing.

With a device like the DashDrive Air, not only do you get a portable charger, but you also get a portable external drive if you throw an SD card in there. While similar devices are available in both of those categories, ADATA puts them together, along with a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for up to ten devices, all in a tiny, pocket-sized package. Let's take a look at the capabilities of the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400.

DashDrive Air Mobile Device Charging

The ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 can do a lot. It can charge batteries, stream media from a USB drive or an SD card, and share an internet connection to up to ten devices. Starting from the top, let's get into the details of everything the DashDrive Air AE400 can do.

First up, the DashDrive Air AE400 takes care of my wife's issue of her iPhone battery dying too quickly by providing a massive charging bank. The DashDrive Air AE400 houses a 5000mAh Li-Polymer rechargeable battery that can be used as a power bank. My wife's iPhone, for comparison, has a 1432 mAh Li-Polymer battery. That's about 3.5 times the size of the iPhone's battery.

ADATA claims that you can charge the iPhone 4S twice fully using the battery bank on the DashDrive Air AE400. That's probably a safe estimate, as the battery bank will also be in use powering the DashDrive Air while it is charging the phone. I'd say it is very likely that you'll get more than two charges out of the DashDrive Air AE400 if that's all you are using it for.

To put the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 into charge mode, first long press the power button to turn it on. After the DashDrive Air is on, short press the button once. This will put the AE400 into charge mode. To confirm that the device is in charge mode, the power bank indicator will turn green. The power bank indicator is the middle of the three indicators and looks like a battery with a lightning bolt on it. If that indicator is green, you are in power bank mode.

Once the device is in power bank mode, just connect your mobile device via the USB port on the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 and it will start charging. Interestingly enough, regardless of the mode in which the DashDrive Air AE400 was currently engaged, it continued to charge my Nexus S 4G; even when the device was supposedly in data transfer only mode. You can charge your mobile device while also using the DashDrive Air as a mobile reader, and we will explore that option in the next section.

DashDrive Air Data Transfer and Media Streaming

The second function of the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 that I want to get into is its ability to stream media and to transfer data. This function can be used with any iOS or Android device, as well as with a desktop or laptop computer running Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X. This versatility makes the DashDrive Air AE400 an easy choice for anyone using multiple platforms.

Before turning on the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400, make sure you connect the storage device you want to use. This can be a USB device, including external hard drives, or an SD card. Once you have connected the storage, it's time to put the DashDrive Air into wireless mode.

To put the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 into wireless data transfer mode, simply long press the power button until the wireless indicator turns green. This is the default startup mode for the DashDrive Air. The wireless indicator is the right-most indicator on the AE400 and looks like a typical wireless network symbol. When in wireless data transfer mode, the DashDrive Air AE400 sets itself up as a wireless network that can be accessed through your normal network settings in Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X.

You also connect to the DashDrive Air AE400's wireless network in normal fashion through your mobile device. Just open up the network settings on your smartphone or tablet and look for the available network named ADATA_AE400_XXX. The default network security key for the DashDrive Air AE400 is 12345678. The name of the network and the security key can obviously be changed to whatever you want. In fact, you can change those settings using only your smartphone or tablet. Many similar devices require you to connect to a Windows PC or a Mac in order to change those settings.

Now that you are connected to the ADATA DashDrive Air's network, use the Android or iOS app to access the data on the storage medium or to stream audio and video files to your mobile device. If you are connecting through a computer, the storage will appear as a shared network folder. The DashDrive Air AE400 has the ability to stream HD video content to up to five simultaneous users at 720p. Streaming at 1080p is possible to three simultaneous users.

DashDrive Air Wireless Hotspot

That brings me to the third function of the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400; its ability to function as a wireless hotspot. The hotspot created by the DashDrive Air can support up to 10 connected devices.

To turn the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 into a wireless hotspot, first connect to it wirelessly as outlined in the previous section. Open the DashDrive Air app and go to settings. The default username and password for the DashDrive Air is admin/admin. Once you are in, click the Internet Access button and pick the wireless network that you want to share. You'll enter the network credentials to connect, and the AE400 will then broadcast the signal and any device connected to the DashDrive Air will also have internet access.

Quite honestly, I am a little uncertain about how useful this function will be. I suppose that if you are in a location where you have single device access to a wireless network that you want to share, but you don't want those you are sharing it with to have the username and password to the actual network, you could have them connect to the DashDrive Air instead. Other than that, I'm not really sure why you wouldn't just connect your devices to the actual network.

Now, it would be nice if the DashDrive Air AE400 could broadcast a USB tethered internet connection. My cell service provider is Sprint and I can tether a device, such as my laptop, through a USB cable without incurring extra charges. Without rooting my phone, however, I can't create a wireless hotspot. If the DashDrive Air AE400 could take that USB tether and turn it into a wireless hotspot. That would be nice. However, it would also probably be in violation of your contract and you might incur the wrath of your provider if they find out.

As a quick guide here, I'm going to layout all the default settings for the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400:

Testing & Results

Testing Methodology

To test the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400, I wanted to look for a few results. First, I wanted to see how fast the data would transfer wirelessly from the DashDrive Air to a mobile device compared to how fast the data would transfer normally through a card reader. To do this, I used ATTO disk benchmark to compare the speeds. Second, I wanted to see what kind of bandwidth the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 would provide as a wireless hotspot. I used SpeedTest.net on my phone and laptop to compare the speeds. Finally, to test the charging capacity of the AE400, I charged phones. Big surprise there.

First up, let's check out the results from ATTO. This first chart represents my laptop reading from a standard SD card through the built-in SD card reader. Both the read and write max out just over 15 MB/s.

The next chart shows read and write speeds with the SD card connected through the DashDrive Air AE400's wireless network. The speeds are frighteningly close. I am quite impressed.

Running SpeedTest by Ookla I was able to determine any difference in bandwidth when using the AE400 as a mobile hotspot. This was a little difficult, as I ran into an error. I'll talk about that a little later, but to give a little background, I used my phone connected to a Cisco router, which was connected to my internet through a Linksys router. The two routers are both 802.11n and were connected via a Cat6 LAN cable. When testing, I was sitting within about a foot of both the router and the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400. The first image is of my phone connected through the Cisco router.

In this screenshot, my phone was connected to the wireless hotspot created by the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400, which was connected through the Cisco router. The loss in bandwidth isn't unexpected, but it does drop by about 40%.

Just for comparison, this is a speed test from my laptop in the same room, connected wirelessly to the Linksys router.

Finally, I tested the charging capability of the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400. After fully charging my Nexus S 4G (technically from 3%), I hooked it up to my work cell, a Verizon G'Zone commando android smartphone. It fully charged the G'Zone and when it was done, the indicator on the AE400 was orange. That means the DashDrive Air was between 25% and 50% charged. Since it still had some juice, I hooked up my wife's iPhone 4S, which as at 27%. The DashDrive Air fully charged the iPhone and finally, the indicator showed up red. I'm not sure exactly how much juice was left, but after charging three phones, it wasn't dead yet.

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. The Nexus S 4G has a 1500 mAh battery, the G'Zone Commando has a 1460 mAh battery, and the iPhone 4S has a 1432 mAh battery. The DashDrive Air AE400 charged all three and still had some juice left. Based on that, I'd say ADATA was being pretty conservative with their estimates of charging the iPhone twice.

DashDrive Air Final Thoughts

I was very impressed with the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 in terms of its ability to function as a mobile device charger and a wireless data storage and media streaming tool. I charged three phones off a fully charged AE400 (well, 2 3/4 phones), and it still had juice left. The size of the DashDrive Air is perfect to fit in a purse or a jacket pocket. It would fit easily in the center console of my car or a briefcase or laptop bag. There is no reason I couldn't carry the DashDrive Air around with me to keep my mobile devices charged up and ready to go.

The ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 also automatically expands my mobile storage by 32GB with the SD I put in there. That frees up a lot of space for more of games and low quality pictures of funny signs. It also gives me a database for movies to entertain passengers on road trips. The DashDrive Air can even help out at work. The other day we were all working on a project that we were sharing back and forth via email. With poor cell connection, not everyone was able to get it downloaded onto their phones to look at during a staff meeting. I pulled out the DashDrive Air, uploaded the file and everyone in the room connected to the AE400 and snagged it. As a portable charger and wireless storage and media streaming device, I think the DashDrive Air is definitely at the top of its class.

As for a Wi-Fi hotspot, however, the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 has some serious drawbacks that keep me from giving it such a glowing recommendation in that area. First and foremost, the AE400 cannot connect to WEP secured networks. I received the error that you see in the image below when trying to connect to my home network, which is secured with WEP encryption.

ADATA support informed me that the problem was the WEP connection and this was their response.

Going through the user's manual and the online documentation, any reference to the device not supporting WEP is very cryptic. The user's manual simply states that the network encryption on the AE400 is WPA2 mixed. Online documentation says that network encryption is WPA and WPA2. To me, those seemed to be referring to the hotspot created by the AE400, which uses WPA2 encryption. It doesn't specifically say anywhere that the AE400 does not support WEP encryption.

The only other issue I had with the DashDrive Air AE400's wireless hotspot feature is that it cut bandwidth by over 40%. That's a lot for me. I honestly don't have much of a use for the AE400's hotspot feature. Considering that I have to already have access to a wireless network in order to hook it up, the only feasible reason I can think of to use it is if I wanted to provide people temporary access to a wireless network without giving them the login information for the actual network.

ADATA AE400 Conclusion

IMPORTANT: Although the rating and final score mentioned in this conclusion are made to be as objective as possible, please be advised that every author perceives these factors differently at various points in time. While we each do our best to ensure that all aspects of the product are considered, there are often times unforeseen market conditions and manufacturer changes which occur after publication that could render our rating obsolete. Please do not base any purchase solely on our conclusion, as it represents our product rating specifically for the product tested which may differ from future versions. Benchmark Reviews begins our conclusion with a short summary for each of the areas that we rate.

The ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 far outperformed my expectations as a portable charging device and as a wireless media streaming and storage device. Data transferred from the ADATA DashDrive Air's connected SD card just as fast as through my laptop's connect SD card reader. With numbers like that, I really have no reason to use my SD card readers anymore. The DashDrive Air also charged three phones without running out of juice. The only performance I wasn't completely excited about was the Wi-Fi hotspot performance. Bandwidth was cut by over 40% when running through the DashDrive Air.

The AE400 is not one of those unsightly portable chargers either. The DashDrive Air takes its cues from diamonds and funnels that image through hexagonal shapes on the surface. The AE400 is compact and relatively thin; about the thickness of two iPhones. It is also quite a bit shorter than a normal smartphone. The shape of the DashDrive is pretty appealing to me, partly because it doesn't look like another phone-sized block.

While the DashDrive Air seems to be well constructed, as the case is made of thick plastic and feels solid. Of course, when I put the AE400 into my pocket or even when I just pick it up, something inside bounces around. It seems as though the battery is not completely secured and slides from side to side when the DashDrive Air is tipped. I didn't put the AE400 through too much, but I did carry it around in my laptop bag and my pocket for a while. Even though it felt a little shaky, the performance never waivered.

As a portable charging device, the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 is definitely the best I have tried. Many portable chargers I have used couldn't even charge my phone completely once. The DashDrive Air charged three. As a wireless storage medium and streaming device, I was very impressed by the ease of use and down-to-business interface. The transfer speeds were great, transferring wireless at the same speed as a connected card ready. As for the Wi-Fi hotspot, the capability is there, but I can't imagine that I'll ever use it.

As of March 2013, the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 costs $79.99 (Newegg / Amazon) and comes off as a good value to me. It is definitely more expensive than I would spend on a portable charger, and more expensive than I would spend on a streaming device. With all of the functionality combined, however, I would definitely spend $80 on the DashDrive Air. For another $20 or so, I can add a 32GB SD card and the AE400 turns into the perfect temporary storage device for movies, music, and pictures that I don't want to keep on my phone, but still want to have close at hand. It takes all of five seconds to be up and running, so it is ready at a moments notice.

Pros:

Cons:

Ratings:

• Performance: 9.50
• Appearance: 9.00
• Construction: 7.75
• Functionality: 8.50
• Value: 9.00

Final Score: 8.75 out of 10.

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.

COMMENT QUESTION:What do you like most/least about the ADATA DashDrive Air AE400 Wireless Storage device?

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