Does your tablet or phone have non-removable storage? Two guys developed a non-intrusive way to fix - Polidicks

[img]http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzA1LzI3L01pY3JvU0RyZWFkLjI4ZTAxLmpwZw/f3de2d6b/460/MicroSD-reader.jpg[/img] [quote]Bay Area-based Andy and Rich (no last names identified) were initially frustrated that their Nexus tablet didn't have a built-in SD card reader to expand storage. So they developed a mini MicroSD card reader for Android devices, which plugs into the phone or tablet via micro-USB, as explained in the video above.[/quote] video is in source [url]http://mashable.com/2013/04/05/mini-micro-sd-reader-for-android/[/url] this looks really cool, and the fact that its small really helps to make it portable

You know, I may just buy this.

Looks pretty damn neat. I've always found it moronic that tablets and phones don't have SD cart slots. It fits with the obsession with making the devices as thin as physically possible, why not have them?

Not a bad idea if you just want to dump a bunch of movies or something unto a microSD and watch them. I don't really like it sticking out of the side and occupying the micro-USB port, but it's a nice way to at least add some expandability.

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;40201940]Not a bad idea if you just want to dump a bunch of movies or something unto a microSD and watch them. I don't really like it sticking out of the side and occupying the micro-USB port, but it's a nice way to at least add some expandability.[/QUOTE] It's better than having a usb otg cable sticking out connected to a flash drive

[QUOTE=Reds;40201927]Looks pretty damn neat. I've always found it moronic that tablets and phones don't have SD cart slots. It fits with the obsession with making the devices as thin as physically possible, why not have them?[/QUOTE] It might be to shave cost. Maybe to reduce complexity (to the end user) and points of failure. Many people believe the Google is forcing it to promote use of their cloud storage services.

I would definitely buy this for my Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus.

[QUOTE=AJisAwesome15;40201951]It's better than having a usb otg cable sticking out connected to a flash drive[/QUOTE] It's nice and I would buy one in a heartbeat but the usb otg is a much cheaper option since this reader costs $12 (according to the kickstarter) but the otg cable is less than $1 so they both have their advantages and disadvantages.

My only real concern is that if you buy this to really use every day, that just means the micro-USB port will wear out faster, which sucks because that's where you charge the thing. Anyone else hate how micro-USB ports always wear out, go loose, and start failing to connect within 1-2 years of owning a device that charges through them? This has happened to both smartphones I've owned and the Android phones of everyone else in my family. They're usually good for about a year before they start screwing up, but my Razr didn't even make it to that point. Same goes for headphone jacks, it's like they have an expiration date where eventually they just get loose and stop making a connection. Who decided the industry standard would be shit port designs that always wear out?

[QUOTE=Demache;40201958]It might be to shave cost. Maybe to reduce complexity (to the end user) and points of failure. [B]Many people believe the Google is forcing it to promote use of their cloud storage services.[/B][/QUOTE] most paranoid bs ever if that were so, why would samsung give away free dropbox space also because google has so much control over the oems (not)

This is a god send, I need some more storage for my nexus 7, only problem though.. If i was to charge my tablet, how would I be able to access this?

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;40202075]This is a god send, I need some more storage for my nexus 7, only problem though.. If i was to charge my tablet, how would I be able to access this?[/QUOTE] Your best bet would be to use it for media or something you wouldn't miss if you unplug it to recharge. I wouldn't want to install software on it or anything like that.

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;40202055]My only real concern is that if you buy this to really use every day, that just means the micro-USB port will wear out faster, which sucks because that's where you charge the thing. Anyone else hate how micro-USB ports always wear out, go loose, and start failing to connect within 1-2 years of owning a device that charges through them? This has happened to both smartphones I've owned and the Android phones of everyone else in my family. They're usually good for about a year before they start screwing up, but my Razr didn't even make it to that point. Same goes for headphone jacks, it's like they have an expiration date where eventually they just get loose and stop making a connection. Who decided the industry standard would be shit port designs that always wear out?[/QUOTE] Can't say I have that issue on my GNexus. Still holds nicely, with the original cable even. Pretty good since I've charged it every day for the past year. [editline]7th April 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=LordCrypto;40202060]most paranoid bs ever if that were so, why would samsung give away free dropbox space also because google has so much control over the oems (not)[/QUOTE] Most people say that when they are talking about Google's Nexus devices. Not necessarily all Android phones as a whole. I'm not sure believe that theory, but it sounds plausible.

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;40202100]Your best bet would be to use it for media or something you wouldn't miss if you unplug it to recharge. I wouldn't want to install software on it or anything like that.[/QUOTE] Oh god no, installing new software on this is stupid, I just mean like I have an extension lead by my bed and it is pretty huge so im able to listen to music while it charges, if I stored all my music and videos onto it and started to charge it, i wouldn't be able to UNLESS, the dock port can be used as a charging station [editline]8th April 2013[/editline] oh and btw, for non-android devices that use microusb, would this also work for them?

Also basically the reason was is that because due to multiple users shit gets wacky. sdcards don't have proper permissions, and google wanted to do security right. if you saved something to the sd card, it wouldn't be hidden from other users. and if you were to remove the card and plug it in a different device with different user setups things would get even more wacky [QUOTE]We got tired of seeing OEMs include many GB of internal storage for music, while users were still running out of space for apps and data. This approach lets us merge everything on one volume, which is way better.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]There's no particular hardware reason a device can't have both. The problem is that there is no good UI for it. One of the core Android principles is that you never need a file manager. Ever. We wanted to avoid the obnoxious "sneeze and a file picker appears" syndrome of basically every other OS. Local data that apps know how to handle should just be magically available within the apps, or stored in the cloud. You shouldn't have to go spelunking on your SD card to find data. The problem with having both internal storage and SD cards is that suddenly that goal gets a whole lot harder to achieve. For a given shot, should the camera save to internal-16GB, or to SD card? Should an app from Market be installed to internal or SD? etc. Yes, we can solve this by letting the user choose, or have it be in settings. But then, that's a file picker, or close enough to the file picker experience that we dislike it just as much. And besides that, there are API consequences: if you stick in an SD card with photos on it, do you add those to the system media content provider? If you do, you will screw up apps because they aren't designed with the concept that photos can come and go.[/QUOTE] bottom line, it matures android as an os.

Part of the reason why i got my lumia was because it has expandable SD card storage to put all my music/videos/etc on Now if only MS would allow me to install application data onto the sd card... then we'd be talking.

I still think it's really stupid that the nexus 4 only has 8gb and 16gb whereas you look at the iPhone and it's 16gb, 32gb and 64gb, google should be appealing to that upper range which is why im looking forward to google I/O this year to see if they've open their eyes to it

There are still phones and tablets without MicroSD storage? Usually you take off the back and it's right there next to the battery. That being said this is still a really neat invention and will likely go on to be adapted to other things.

[QUOTE=Demache;40201958]It might be to shave cost.[/QUOTE] Yesh Mr. Connery

[QUOTE=Pretty Obscure;40202244]There are still phones and tablets without MicroSD storage? Usually you take off the back and it's right there next to the battery. That being said this is still a really neat invention and will likely go on to be adapted to other things.[/QUOTE] I don't know where you've been. iPhones have never had microSD slots, and Nexus devices haven't for quite some time either. A few other manufacturers are following suit on some of their devices.

god dammit, I had a plan to take a battery pack case, the internals of an OTG-USB cable, and a micro SD card reader to do JUST this

[QUOTE=Demache;40202279]I don't know where you've been. iPhones have never had microSD slots, and Nexus devices haven't for quite some time either. A few other manufacturers are following suit on some of their devices.[/QUOTE] It's a bit of a shame, but it should hopefully create a demand for better 3G/4G networks at a lower cost, so users can stream media instead of storing it locally. I've never tried, but it wouldn't be too difficult to get VLC streaming from your home server, which means potentially terabytes of media. Issue comes when you want to use it on a plane, I suppose!

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;40202154]One of the core Android principles is that you never need a file manager. Ever.[/QUOTE] Does anyone here not use a file manager with Android? IMO it's bloody useless without a file manager.

[QUOTE=Lalelalala;40202432]Does anyone here not use a file manager with Android? IMO it's bloody useless without a file manager.[/QUOTE] That's exactly why Google is trying to move away from them. It is very important to have one in Android, but from what Google has seen, it proves to create a bad and unpolished user experience. Understandably, your common user hates navigating the file system to find what they need. Users don't like to think. Granted, in many situations its unavoidable. However, I'm sure the philosophy is to keep it as minimal as possible.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;40202130]Oh god no, installing new software on this is stupid, I just mean like I have an extension lead by my bed and it is pretty huge so im able to listen to music while it charges, if I stored all my music and videos onto it and started to charge it, i wouldn't be able to UNLESS, the dock port can be used as a charging station [editline]8th April 2013[/editline] oh and btw, for non-android devices that use microusb, would this also work for them?[/QUOTE] Dunno about non-android, but I doubt it. I'm surprised they didn't add a pass-through so that you could use it for charging as well. To the best of my knowledge every USB connector has a DC+ and DC- terminal for charging or powering the device, and the rest are communication, so there's no reason they couldn't do it.

I'm sure they'll take it into consideration if you give them that suggestion

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;40202541]Dunno about non-android, but I doubt it. I'm surprised they didn't add a pass-through so that you could use it for charging as well. To the best of my knowledge every USB connector has a DC+ and DC- terminal for charging or powering the device, and the rest are communication, so there's no reason they couldn't do it.[/QUOTE] I believe the same pins used for charging are used for powering the device its connected to. Its just a regular USB port functionality wise. However, according to the Wikipedia article on USB OTG (at least the way I'm reading it), the adapter would just need to be able to signal that it can charge the host device.

[QUOTE=Lalelalala;40202432]Does anyone here not use a file manager with Android? IMO it's bloody useless without a file manager.[/QUOTE] I got one (galaxy s3) but i almost never use it. I dont really have that much need for it, apart fromsome pretty specific things

[QUOTE=Demache;40202651]I believe the same pins used for charging are used for powering the device its connected to. Its just a regular USB port functionality wise. However, according to the Wikipedia article on USB OTG (at least the way I'm reading it), the adapter would just need to be able to signal that it can charge the host device.[/QUOTE] It's all just a resistor connected between GND and the ID/SENSE pin. The value (ohm) of the resistor determites the state. If you look closely at a micro-usb connector you'll see 5 pins instead of 4 like on a ordinary usb one.

The Nexus 4 is now the best cellphone (considering the price) out there now that its main downside is fixed by this.