Gizmos and Gadgets: AirStash Expands Capabilities of Tablets, Smartphones and MP3 Players

AirStash is a wireless flash drive and media streaming device. As an Android tablet and smartphone user I recently became aware of the second generation release called A02. The first generation seemed to be focused largely on Apple products. But now AirStash A02 expands its capability for almost every type of portable device on the market. It just may be the perfect Christmas gift for the technology geeks you know.

The single thing that most irritates be about tablets, smartphones and MP3 players is their physical connections. Some come with standard USB ports. Others come with micro-USBs. Some come with SD slots. Others with micro-SDs. None seem to have a standard bus for recharging. I have bags full of cables that I have to constantly sort through to figure out which one supports my Apple iPods (3 generations of these) , my Samsung MP3 player, my Kobo eReader, my Olympus digital recorder, my Sony digital camera, my Samsung Galaxy Tablet, my daughter’s Nexus tablet, my wife’s netbook, my portable WiFi hotspot device, and my Huawei Android smartphone. As a result whenever I travel I am accompanied by what looks like a bag of spaghetti made up of wires, connectors and plugs.

AirStash A02 doesn’t eliminate the rechargers but it does add a whole lot of value to this menagerie of digital toys and it does it with and without physical connections. That’s because AirStash is a WiFi network device and a wireless memory card all in one. It looks like a large version of a USB thumb drive and comes with a SD card slot. You can download and upload files to it. You can stream videos to up to 3 devices simultaneously. Share presentations with up to 8 users at a time. Download or upload music, pictures, eBooks and files simply by connecting to the AirStash WiFi network. Any file format supported by your Apple or Android device sent from the AirStash will run. AirStash provides users with five hours of battery power and also comes with an AC adapter.

Still a bit pricey ($109.97 for the 8 GB version and $179.95 for the 16 GB) at Canadian retailers such as Staples, this is a product that says I’m perfect for the geek who has everything.