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Sharing thoughts and ideas on business, security and photographySummary of Drifta compatibility : Which Drifta to get
Posted on June 23, 2012Now that there are 4 Drifta devices on the market it can be a little confusing as to which one to buy. The assumption often can be that each new one is better than the last, and this is definitely no the case. In truth, though each is slightly different in size and shape, they all provide the same functionality (mostly), same picture quality, and where they have a battery, similar battery life. The choice really comes down to which devices you want to use the Drifta with. The table below summarises this. Click on the device name for link to a full review.
| Walka | Drifta (WiFi) | USB Drifta | iDrifta | |
| Standalone | Yes | No | No | No |
| iPad/Phone/Touch*3 | No | Yes | No | Yes*3 |
| Windows PC | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mac | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Blackberry | No | Partial*1 | No | No |
| Android | No | Yes*2 | No | No |
*1 There are limited devices which are supported by Blackberry and this support is Beta only. Be careful, newer Blackberry devices are not supported. (Link here to supported devices)
*2 Android support is also not universal, it is device specific. Many devices are supported but check before you buy. (Link here to supported devices)
*3 If your iDevice is jailbroken you will play Cat and Mouse with DSTV as by default the application won’t work. With a little help from a friend it will work on current versions (and some past versions) but going forward there are no guarantees it will work. (Link to jailbreak information here)
My thoughts on the USB DStv Drifta (Review)
Posted on August 05, 2011Update : The new iDrifta has been released (iDevice only) – unboxing here. Review to follow.
First reactions from my son :
- Aww Dad, it’s so cute. Look how tiny it is compared to the old one.
- Dad, I can’t plug in the memory stick next to the Drifta.
That, in a nutshell, sums up the new USB DStv Drifta. It’s small and cute, not quite the size of a memory stick (just a tad fatter), so overlaps a second USB slot when plugged in (a cable is supplied to solve this). It works, and well, but doesn’t really cure any of the inherent problems with the first Drifta. That said, in the right scenarios it is a great device.
USB Drifta with Aerial extended
Onto the review proper :
Back on 14 July 2011 DStv announced (officially) the new USB DStv Drifta (release here). The release and the pictures made the device look interesting. A week later their PR team mailed me and offered me a Drifta to test out and review (well, they just offered to send me one, my assumption it was to test and review).
This review doesn’t intend to rehash all of the detail from my review last year. This in many ways is just a simpler, smaller, cheaper version of the Drifta and it works much in the same way. Go and read that review if you want to understand more about the DStv mobile product as opposed to the USB Drifta itself.
DStv USB Drifta Unboxed
Posted on July 29, 2011DStvs Public Relations company were kind enough to send me a USB Drifta to review. My love/hate relationship with DStv mobile is well documented on this site. I don’t hold back when they mess up, and try to be fair at other times. I am still “banned” on their DStv mobile forums. So kudos to the PR department for moving past all of that and sending through the device for review. After some delays to the courier (snow, roads closed between Jhb and Dbn) the device finally arrived. Below are the unboxing pictures. The detailed review will follow in due course (detailed review available, click here).
The parcel arrived from the courier double bagged and in a sealed envelope.
Inside the parcel was a personalised letter saying how the DStv mobile team would love me to try out the USB Drifta and providing instructions on whom to call to get it activated.
The box itself was tied up in cute red ribbons.
As predicted, new DSTV Mobile Decoder released (USB Device)
Posted on July 14, 2011As predicted back on the 4th June (based on firmware contained in the last Windows 1.3 client released), DSTV Mobile have now come out and announced the availability of a brand new decoder, known as the “Dstv Mobile USB Drifta” decoder.
This uses the same DVB-H functionality as the wifi drifta, it just comes in a much smaller an convenient package for those who don’t need to use WiFi connectivity (to iPhones/iPads/Ipod’s) and just want to use it with their PC’s.
The device plugs straight into the USB port, doesn’t need charging, pairing or any of the complications. It is claimed to be available now at a price of R399. Good deal if you are only ever wanting to use it with a laptop. The device is available on Kalahari.net already, with an 8 day delivery time. It may be coincidence or could explain the half price Drifta special that was available yesterday. They are back to full price today 
In addition to the new decoder, DStv mobile also announced the launch of the M-Net Series channel to the DStv mobile lineup. Im not sure which channel is to be dropped (since they claim to be using up all channels allocated to them by ICASA), but we shall see. Hopefully it is the full channel and not a gimped version full of week old repeats as Cartoon Network is.
Sadly there is still no news on the Blackberry or Android client software for the existing Drifta. Just how serious are DSTV about sorting out the problems with the existing product if they are launching new ones? Your guess is as good as mine.
The press release is available here on the www.dstv.com website.
I have updated the Drifta FAQ to include the new USB Drifta. Find it here.
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