Wi-Fi Data Reader with an iPad
A card reader and wireless router
German company Hama developed a unique card reader which can send the content of any SD card wirelessly to an iPad or iPhone.
The Wi-Fi Data Reader from HAMA is a tiny wireless device with a few interesting capabilities. On the front side of the device there are two slots – one for SD/SDHC/SDXC cards and the other a USB. Using the USB a user can connect a flash drive and send images, videos and other files wirelessly to a connected device.
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Using the Wi-Reader app which can be downloaded for free from the Apple app store, users can easily transfer images and other files from the HAMA Wi-Fi Data Reader to an iOS 5 device. HAMA also mentions that users can access the information on a connected SD card or flash drive using a web browser (which means that users can connect to the Wi-Fi Data Reader from any computer and possibly android based devices as well).
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One of the advantages of having a wireless USB is the ability to connect other media formats such as micro SD or CF via an adapter. While there are Wireless SD cards (such as ones from EYE-Fi, Sandisk, Toshiba etc.) that can send images directly from the camera to a computer or a mobile device, none of those are CF cards which are the most common amongst professional photographers. Having a device which can send images from a CF (using an adapter) to a computer or a mobile unit can be very useful for many pro photographers.
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Another interesting feature of the Wi-Fi Data Reader actually has nothing to do with SD cards. The unit can actually operate as a tiny wireless router. Using a Ethernet connection on its side, the Wi-Fi Data Reader can help the user connect up to 5 different devices to the web. If you happen to be in a hotel for example which only has a wired connection and you have several devices you would like to connect, this could be a real life saver.
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One thing which HAMA doesn’t tell us about the Wi-Fi Data Reader is wheather or not you can connect a hard drive to its USB port. We can’t see any reason why not, but HAMA doesn’t mention anything o the matter. Another thing the company does not state is how much usage you can get from the built in battery of the Wi-Fi Data Reader. They do however mention that the unit can be charged using USB.
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The HAMA Wi-Fi Data Reader will cost about $90 and more information on it can be found on the HAMA website.
