Verdict and Conclusion
Having a limited budget for things outside of whats deemed necessity to get the job done. I would not of gone out and bought one of these to include in my field kit. However patriots offering is certainly a best of both worlds product.
The combination of a strong battery and the ability to put a standard 2.5″ SATA drive into the enclosure is certainly an great combo. Throw in the USB 3.0 capability for large file transfer, and wireless for streaming or small quick file transfers from an array of mobile devices. It leaves you with a wonderful storage device for when a USB thumb drive just doesn’t quite cut the mustard.
The performance Is where you would expect it to be on the whole. It would be nice to have an increased single user bandwidth option, for wireless transfers. However the main target audience for the wireless is mobile devices. Unless you have a huge mobile device, I doubt many users are gonna be looking to move large Multi gig files back and forth over the wireless interface.
The Gauntlet Connect software is simple and easy to use. It was such a breeze to install that it can easily be performed by someone your looking to share the device with. Not only this you won’t have to go into multi hour explanation of how to find the drive once they have installed the software. Since that does it for you.
The device does get a little warm during extended use. But quality design from Patriot has mean that you shouldn’t have to worry about damaging the device due to over heating. Due to internal thermal Protection.
Price point wise its runs about what you would expect for a wireless enclosure. Sitting at around 95-100$ price point currently. While in most situations its most costly than the hard drive your putting in it. The ability to change the storage as needed, quickly and conveniently certainly improves the quality of the investment your making.
All that being said, it falls short of one of its advertised potential when used with more advanced wireless setups. In situations where you want to make use sharing Internet to devices behind it, a stealthed hot spot has no compatibility at this time, with the Gauntlet Node.
In Short the Pros:
- Simple to use
- Standard networking protocols used
- USB 3.0 and wireless connectivity (though not both at the same time)
- Wireless playback support for files over 2gb in size for mobile devices.
The Cons:
- Limited wireless bandwidth for a single user.
- The inability to connect to more secured wireless hot spots, for Internet sharing.
Overall I am pleased with the device, and I am eager to see how it fares in the field over the next few months as I am adding it to my toolkit. The Gauntlet Node earns a respectable 9/10 rating from me. Patriot Has certainly impressed me with their ability to put something out there that has the potential to work with just about any mobile device. Even those outside of the standard support realm.
SCORE
9/10
