Phone and tablet users looking for wireless storage will soon have a new and compelling option in the Apotop Wi-Copy. The product of Taiwanese accessory maker Apotop, this device features both an SD card reader and a full-size USB port that you can access over Wi-Fi using an Android or iOS app. In addition to allowing you to access both SD cards and USB devices, the Wi-Copy can serve as both an external charger with a 5,400 mAH capacity and a portable router with an Ethernet port.
At Aptop's Computex Taipei booth, we got a demonstration of the Wi-Copy in action and came away intrigued by its versatility. As we watched, an Apotop rep plugged both an SD card and a USB stick into the device, powered it on and connected to it via Wi-Fi. After forming the connection, the rep launched an Apotop app on his iPhone and used it to browse the folders on the SD card, select a file and then copy it directly to the flash drive. Because the copy took place between two ports on the same device, it took just a few seconds.
According to Apotop, the Wi-Copy can transfer files between the card reader and the USB port at a rate of 10 Mbps. While that's not exactly blazing, it's quick enough to back up your photos from a camera onto a USB device in a reasonable amount of time. The company expects that many people will use the device to back up photos from a memory card to a USB hard drive or Flash drive. However, the device also provides a great way to access a huge library of local media files from your tablet or phone. Just imagine plugging a 500GB hard drive into the Wi-Copy and using it to access your entire music collection from your 16GB iPad.
With its generous 5,400 mAH battery, the Wi-Copy should last more than 10 hours on a charge. Even better, that amount of juice can charge a typical smart phone twice or fill up a 7-inch tablet like the Nexus 7 once. If you're in a hotel room with an Ethernet port, you can use the Wi-Copy to share the single connection between all your devices.
The Apotop Wi-Copy will retail for around $120 in the U.S. when it launches in the next few weeks. You should be able to find it on select online retailers including Newegg.com.
