Toshiba’s newest wireless hard drive streams media directly to a Chromecast

More storage is always better. High-def videos and beautiful HQ pictures eat up precious space on your iPhone and iPad. Wireless Hard Drives and Lightning Flash Drives combat this by allowing you to backup and access weighty media files from your mobile devices. Toshiba’s new Canvio AeroCast Wireless Portable Hard Drive does both of those tasks and then some…
The Canvio AeroCast’s killer feature is its ability to stream pictures and movies to a Chromecast (on sale + free Play credit) via Toshiba’s Google Cast Ready app. That makes it super easy to enjoy your favorite movies on the big screen without bogging down your iPhone/iPad down. It’s stacked with a 1TB internal HDD, but can be expanded through the SD card slot. The built-in battery lasts up to 5 hours.

Coming in at $220, the AeroCast is pricier than offerings from other major brands like WD and Seagate, but those lack the ability to stream directly to a Chromecast. So you have to decide if Chromecast connectivity is worth the up-charge.

If you don’t need TBs of additional space, then your best bets are probably SanDisk’s Connect Wireless Flash Drives, starting at $35. These little sticks provide up to 64GB of additional storage for your mobile devices. That’s enough space to backup pictures or store a couple movies while on the road.

However, you can also use Toshiba’s new Canvio Wireless Adapter to add the same streaming capabilities to any USB external hard drive for $79.99. That may be a better option for those of you who have recently invested in a nice portable HD. Either solution will make watching movies on your Chromecast easier than ever before.

Toshiba also launched a 120GB Canvio AeroMobile Wireless SSD for $209.99 (on sale for $149.99).

[9to5-press-release]
Toshiba’s New Canvio AeroCast Wireless HDD Changes the Way Digital Content is Experienced on a TV

Latest Solution Allows Consumers to Play Personal Digital Content Freely with No Cables Attached

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Toshiba’s Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today introduced the Canvio AeroCast™ Wireless Hard Drive, an innovative device that blends the benefits of high-capacity external storage with the ultimate in wireless freedom. Users can connect to their Chromecast™ device (sold separately) to experience their personal digital content such as movies, music and photos – by downloading Toshiba’s Google Cast™ Ready app1 to cast entertainment from the Canvio AeroCast™ Wireless Hard Drive to an HDTV. The 1TB2 Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive is a fast and reliable all-in-one device that helps manage storage needs wirelessly.

“Storage needs are changing. By understanding the importance of mobility, we have taken storage to the next level. With integrated wireless capabilities, we empower our users to share and stream their personal digital content the way they want, wirelessly,” said Maciek Brzeski, vice president, Branded Storage, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. “The Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive fills a real need for consumers – they’re now able to enjoy the content that they own, wirelessly on the home television.”

Users can easily upload and back up content from their mobile devices3 directly to the Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive for secure4, centralized storage. Instant access is available to stored files through the device’s own local Wi-Fi® connection (no Internet required). The Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive has a battery life of up to five hours5 and can connect simultaneously with up to six devices, making accessing and sharing files from the digital library easier than ever.

Also announced today, the Canvio Cast™ Wireless Adapter, extends the usefulness of existing hard drives, letting users wirelessly upload, share, download and stream their stored digital library from the hard drive to any connected mobile device.6,7 The Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter is compatible with iPad®, iPhone®, and Android™ mobile devices.6

The release of the Canvio AeroCast Wireless Hard Drive and Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter expands Toshiba’s portfolio of wireless products, which is aimed at satisfying a broad range of customer needs. Previously announced were the Canvio® Wireless Adapter and Canvio AeroMobile™ Wireless SSD, which are both now on sale.

Toshiba has been providing storage solutions worldwide since 1967 and has more than 47 years of experience developing storage offerings that complement our comprehensive ecosystem of devices. Leveraging an annual $3.1 billion investment in research and development, Toshiba continues to push the boundaries of storage technology to meet customers’ needs.

Pricing and Availability

The 1TB Canvio AeroCast will be available for purchase at select retailers and on toshiba.com/us/ for $219.99 MSRP8 beginning on December 11, 2014. The Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter will be available for purchase at select retailers and on toshiba.com/us/ for $79.99 MSRP beginning on December 11, 2014.

Image Gallery: http://bit.ly/ToshibaCanvioAeroCast and http://bit.ly/ToshibaCanvioCast

Connect with Toshiba on Facebook at facebook.com/ToshibaUSA, on Twitter at twitter.com/ToshibaUSA and on YouTube at youtube.com/ToshibaUS.

About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS)

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Business Solutions Division, Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide digital products, services and solutions, including industry-leading notebook computers, tablets and All-in-One computers, televisions, TV/DVD Combination products, Blu-ray Disc™, DVD players and media boxes, as well as cloud services; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for computers; and IP business telephone systems with unified communications, collaboration and mobility applications. TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. For more information on TAIS visit us.toshiba.com.

About Toshiba

Toshiba Corporation, a Fortune Global 500 company, channels world-class capabilities in advanced electronic and electrical product and systems into five strategic business domains: Energy & Infrastructure, Community Solutions, Healthcare Systems & Services, Electronic Devices & Components, and Lifestyles Products & Services. Guided by the principles of The Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, “Committed to People, Committed to the Future”, Toshiba promotes global operations towards securing “Growth Through Creativity and Innovation”, and is contributing to the achievement of a world in which people everywhere live in safe, secure and comfortable society.

Founded in Tokyo in 1875, today’s Toshiba is at the heart of a global network of over 590 consolidated companies employing over 200,000 people worldwide, with annual sales surpassing 6.5 trillion yen (US$63 billion).

To find out more about Toshiba, visit www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm

© 2014 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Canvio, Canvio AeroCast, Canvio AeroMobile and Canvio Cast are trademarks of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Information including without limitation product prices, specifications, availability, content of services, and contact information is subject to change without notice.

1 Chromecast™ media streaming device (sold separately) required. Application software required and will need to be downloaded from the Toshiba website and/or other websites.

2 External HDD Capacity: One Gigabyte (GB) means 109 = 1,000,000,000 bytes and One Terabyte (TB) means 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes using powers of 10. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1GB=230 = 1,073,741,824 bytes and 1TB = 240 = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes, and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity will also be less if the computer includes one or more pre-installed operating systems, pre-installed software applications, or media content. Actual formatted capacity may vary.

3 Support for PC or Mac®: Windows 8.1, Windows 8 and Windows® 7. Mac OS X® 10.7 and 10.8 with included NTFS driver for Mac. Support for iPhone®, iPad® and AndroidTM platform. Application software required and will need to be downloaded from the Toshiba website and/or other websites.

4 Secured via the user-defined wireless network password established under the device Settings.

5 Up to 5 hours Battery Life (BL). Actual BL may vary. For details see Hard Drives & Storage > Battery Life at info.toshiba.com.

6 For use with external hard drives (NTFS format, only). External hard drive sold separately. Future compatibility of non-Toshiba external hard drives may vary. Mobile device refers to iOS® and Android™ mobile devices. Support for iPhone®, iPad® and Android™ platform based smartphone and tablet: iOS® version 6; Android™ version 2.3. Application software required and will need to be downloaded from the Toshiba website and/or other websites.

7 Product needs to be plugged to a power source.

8 Price. Reseller prices may vary. MSRP means “Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price.”
[/9to5-press-release]

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