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Patriot's claim of up to 5.5 hours of battery life is fair and makes the Gauntlet Node a viable option for users who travel frequently. The enclosure's small dimensions and evident sturdiness enhance the effectiveness of using the Gauntlet Node as an essential traveling device.
Range of the WiFi 802.11 b/g/n device was acceptable. When located in the same room as the Gauntlet Node, we could obtain signal and a stable connection without any problems. Step outside of the device's area and the signal was rapidly attenuated due to brick and plasterboard walls. This isn't entirely the Gauntlet Node's fault, although a stronger wireless transmitter would have made the issue less of an concern.
On the positive side, the Gauntlet Node's portability factor and good battery life means that you shouldn't have to worry about poor wireless connections – simply carry the device in your pocket when entering a different room or area, hence maintaining excellent signal.
Another issue that we noticed was the enclosure's power button placement. It was very awkward to press due to the fact that it didn't protrude, but instead lay in a small channel. At times, it seemed non-responsive and wouldn't turn the unit off or on due to the fact that an accurate push of the button was very difficult to register.
We were impressed by how easy the Gauntlet Node was to use. No problems were encountered when trying to stream various types of media, including MKV, AVI, JPG, MP3, DOCX and PDF files, to 3 different Android and Windows devices, simultaneously.
Our videos were streamed in their original format without any noticeable loss of quality. Perhaps the most impressive feature of the Gauntlet Node's streaming capabilities was the fact that not once did we encounter buffering times of more than a few seconds. And that's while streaming hour-long AVI videos and even HD MKV movies to Windows and Android devices.
DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT. It does not work even with instructions from the vendor. The SDD I purchased did not work. They wanted me to install another drive an attempt to update the firmware in order for the unit to recognize the SSD. Hogwash. The second drive didn’t work. It is as someone described in a blog that it is like the unit recognizes the drive when directly connected to a PC through USB, but when you switch to wireless mode and check status.. no drive. Are they serious is selling this unit and expecting people to have to jump through hoops to make it work, only to find out it doesn’t work. Now I am stuck returning it to NewEgg and dealing with the shipping and $15 restocking fee.