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Portable hard disk drives have become so commoditized that many consumers just base their purchase on price and storage capacity. To differentiate themselves, Western Digital created the wireless version of the portable hard disk drive - the 2 TB Western Digital My Passport Wireless (WDBDAF0020BBK). However, the My Passport Wireless is more than just a portable hard disk drive with a wireless access point tacked onto it. It is more of a mobile NAS with wireless capabilities.
This generation of My Passport Wireless drives is powered by a Texas Instruments AM3352 "Sitara" system-on-a-chip which is based on the ARM Cortex-A8 microprocessor with 512 MB of DDR3 SDRAM and 128 MB of SLC NAND flash storage. Its Texas Instruments WiFi module not only allows you to wirelessly access the drive, but also wirelessly stream HD videos to multiple devices at up to 72 Mbps while serving as a WiFi hub.
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The My Passport Wireless drives also come with an SD Card slot that supports SD and SDHC cards with capacities of up to 32 GB. This allows you to quickly copy or move your photos and videos (at up to 25 MB/s) to the My Passport Wireless' internal hard disk drive. It is also possible to directly access the SD card contents wirelessly.
All that is powered by a 3.7 V lithium-ion polymer battery with a capacity of 3,400 mAh. According to Western Digital, that's enough juice for the My Passport Wireless drive to remain on standby for up to 20 hours, or stream 4 HD videos simultaneously to multiple devices for 6 full hours. All of that is packed into a relatively compact case which makes it look like a chunkier and heavier version of an ordinary portable hard disk drive. Take a look at the size comparison below :
2.5" External Hard Disk Drives |
Height |
Width |
Length |
Weight |
12.3 mm |
80 mm |
110 mm |
134 g |
|
15 mm |
83 mm |
110 mm |
140 g |
|
14 mm |
83 mm |
111 mm |
150 g |
|
18.5 mm |
83 mm |
124 mm |
180 g |
|
Western Digital My Passport Ultra |
18.8 mm |
80 mm |
110 mm |
240 g |
21 mm |
82 mm |
111 mm |
230 g |
|
22 mm |
89 mm |
120 mm |
280 g |
|
22 mm |
89 mm |
120 mm |
280 g |
|
Western Digital My Passport Wireless (2 TB) |
29.8 mm |
86 mm |
127 mm |
350 g |
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In the pictures below, we compared the My Passport Wireless to the My Passport Ultra Metal / Anniversary Edition (middle) and the 1 TB My Passport Slim (right or top). The My Passport Wireless looks like a chunkier version of the My Passport Ultra.
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Part of the reason for the larger size is the use of a plastic chassis instead of the aluminium case in the My Passport Ultra Metal / Anniversary Edition and the My Passport Slim. An aluminium case would have allowed for a smaller case, albeit at the expense of additional weight, and much higher cost.
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Specifications
Processor |
• Texas Instruments AM3352 Sitara (ARM Cortex A8) SoC |
System Memory |
• 512 MB DDR3 SDRAM (Hynix H5TQ4G63AFR) |
System Storage |
• 128 MB SLC NAND Flash (Hynix H27U1G8F2B) |
Internal Drive Model |
• WD20NPVX (2.5") |
Formatted Capacity |
• 2,000,000 MB |
Drive Format |
• exFAT |
Bytes Per Sector |
• 512 bytes |
Spindle Speed |
• 5400 RPM |
Cache Buffer |
• 8 MB DDR2 SDRAM |
Interface |
• Wireless-N |
WiFi Module |
• Texas Instruments WiLink WL1805MOD |
WiFi Capability |
• 802.11b/g/n |
Supported USB Transfer Modes |
• 5.0 Gbits/s (USB 3.0) |
SD Card Capability |
• SDA 2.0-compliant |
Battery Capability |
• 3400 mAh, 3.7 V lithium-ion polymer battery |
Maximum Height |
• 29.8 mm (1.17 inches) |
Maximum Width |
• 86 mm (3.39 inches) |
Maximum Length |
• 127 mm (5.00 inches) |
Maximum Weight |
• 350 g (0.77 lbs) |
Operating Temperature |
• 0 °C to 35 °C (32 °F to 95 °F) |
Non-Operating Temperature |
• -20 °C to 60 °C (-4 °F to 140 °F) |
Maximum Altitude |
• Up to 10,000 m above mean sea level |
Drive Acoustics |
• NA |
Power Adaptor |
• 10 W power output (5 V, 2 A) |
Warranty |
• 2 Years Limited Warranty (Worldwide) |
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Western Digital My Passport Wireless Review |
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• Testing The Drive, Read & Write Copy Tests |
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<<< Introduction, Packaging & Contents : Previous Page | Next Page : A Closer Look, USB 3.0, Recharging >>>
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