Every now and then, an interesting accessory comes along and gets us all excited. The RAVPower Filehub RP-WD02 did just that when it arrived at our doorstep. It’s a power bank, WiFi router and media center in one portable package.
- Stream movies and view photos on any device
- 6,000 mAh power bank
- Wireless Router and Repeater
- Power: Input 1.5 amp; Output 1 amp
- Up to 2.0 TB for USB drive
- Up to 128 GB for micro SD card
- Dimensions: L 2.75 x W 2.95 x H 0.90 inch
Handy
Coming in at 2.75 x 2.95 x 0.90 inches, the RAVPOWER FILEHUB is small enough to find a place in your bag, but maybe not inyour pocket. It has a simple and straightforward design that focuses on its functions. The body of the device is made of plastic, with soft rubber caps protecting the ports. Our review unit is colored white with green rubber caps, but their website has a black variant as well. Overall, the RP-WD02 is well built and feels solid.
Functional ports
The RP-WD02 has multiple ports to service its various functions. The bottom has a USB port along with the power button. On the left side is where you’ll find the pinhole for the reset button, a microSD card slot and a micro USB port. And on the right you have the cable port (WAN). All the ports are covered with soft rubber caps to protect it from dust and splashes (and no, its not water resistant).
Portable Media Center
To fully use the RP-WD02, it is recommended that you download and install the RAV FileHub app. It is available on both Android and iOS. It acts as a gateway to access the device’s settings, and functions as a file explorer as well.
Using the app, you can transfer files between smartphones and tablets regardless of OS. All you need to do is plug in a microSD card or a USB thumb drive on the device, connect to it via WiFi, and access through the app.
I played a movie stored on a thumb drive through the app. The experience was good. The 1080p video streamed well, with no lag or slow downs. As long as the format is supported by your device, it will have no problems playing it.
Router and Repeater
If you have a DSL connection at home but don’t have a wireless router, you can easily use the RP-WD02 as a temporary WiFi router. I mentioned temporary because you might be better of with a real WiFi router in the long run. Just plug a LAN cable directly to the device. You just need to set the SSID name and password to protect the connection.
WiFi range isn’t that impressive, especially if you’re trying to get a connection from another room. But still, the convenience of having a temporary wireless router cannot be ignored.
Power bank!
This is where I think versatility comes in. The RP-WD02 has a 6,000 mAh battery. It acts as both the power source for the device and the power bank function. So basically you could charge your phone and while streaming videos, photos or music stored on a connected thumb drive.
In terms of battery life, streaming a movie through the device can give you up to 6 hours of use, most likely outlasting your smartphone.
Verdict
The combination of WiFi router, media center and power bank seems to work well for the RAVPower FileHub RP-WD02. Portability and versatility are its biggest assets. And while it’s just average-to-good in terms of the performance of its other features, having it all together in one device more than makes up for it.
