All owners of modern iPhone and iPad know that micro-memory cards (SD) cannot be used in these gadgets, but as one of the options for exchanging data, you can connect an external medium. Such a device is generally called a USB flash drive with an iPhone connector.
There are more than enough suitable options for your needs in stores: iBridge, iFlasDrive, iKlips, Leef iBridge and much more. To talk about the principles of operation of all models, let's try to characterize one universal option in the face of the SanDisk iXpand device.
A USB flash drive is designed to increase the memory capacity of your gadget and simplified data transfer between a computer and a phone. The main advantages of such a flash drive are a quick backup of photos and videos with password protection, instantly clearing the memory for new information, listening to music and watching videos directly from the disk, and all this on the screen of your iOS device.
Specifications
SanDisk iXpand has the following technical parameters:
- connection with USB 2.0 and Lightning ports;
- memory capacity from 16 to 128 GB;
- compatibility with iOS devices version 7.1 and later;
- compatibility with operating systems Windows Vista, 7, 8 and Mac OS 10+;
- The gadget supports formats: WMV, AVI, MKV, MP4, MOV;
- flash drive dimensions: 65 x 37 x 12 mm;
- weight - 26 grams;
- battery: lithium or line-ion power of 3.7 V;
- working environment - from 0 to 60 ° .
Appearance
Externally, the USB flash drive looks quite compact, the case is made of all-metal material, which perfectly combines the gadget with the design of the iPhone and iPad. The kit does not have any additional cables or other accessories - all ports (Lightning and USB) are built directly into the device itself, and detailed instructions for use are already loaded into the gadget's memory.
The brightness and brightness of the device spoils the impression a bit, and, knowing how the gadget will “dwell” in pockets or bags, you will have to come to terms with the fact that it will subsequently be slightly littered.
Hardware
The adapter for the USB flash drive is connected to the case with a short cable, which is carefully masked in a special niche if the disk is not used. To protect the adapter there is a transparent plastic cover.
On one side of the device there is a LED-type informing indicator that lights up in red when the battery charge drops below 15% and blinks at the time of data transfer so that the user does not disconnect the USB flash drive at the wrong time.
Ergonomics
Let's try to figure out how to connect a USB flash drive for "iPhone 5S". To connect the drive to your device, you need to remove the Lightning cable from the groove and connect it to the gadget so that the USB flash drive is on the back of the phone panel.
In this position, it is convenient to hold this entire “system” in your hands regardless of the orientation of the screen, while listening to or watching your favorite movies and not feeling the “foreign body”.
Device work
Flash drive for "iPhone 5" SanDisk iXpand is available in several versions: 16/32/64/128 GB. In order to start working with the device, it is enough to perform a few simple steps:
- connect the USB flash drive to the PC via the USB port as a regular drive;
- connect the device to your iPhone or iPad via the Lightning interface and install iXpand Sync (autostart application), which allows you to work with content in both directions;
- After installing and launching the application, the file manager will start working, automatically determining all the video, photo and audio files that you have.
When you start the file manager for the first time, detailed instructions for using it will appear. The program interface is more than friendly to the user, so it’s not difficult to deal with all the subtleties of the software.
On the home screen there is a list of available folders and files for work, there is also the possibility of more fine-tuning the interface with the automatic launch of a video or audio player when opening files of the appropriate format. The program also recognizes Microsoft Office documents and PDF formats.
Working with files, as in any other file manager that a USB flash drive is equipped with, you can delete, move, rename and sort them by date, type and alphabet with the ability to display a grid, list or icons.
Files exceeding 4 GB cannot be uploaded to the device, alas, due to the limitation of the FAT32 streaming system. Alternatively, you can reformat the USB flash drive to another file system such as NTFS or exFAT. The restriction on the transfer of voluminous files will be removed, but then the device will lose full compatibility with iOS, turning into a regular storage medium.
Copying or moving files between gadgets is pretty fast for these devices. A file about one gigabyte in size is copied for about one and a half minutes.
Video player
Probably the most obvious use case for the device is watching a video on both an iPhone and an iPad. The iXpand USB flash drive supports the most common video formats: WMV, AVI, MKV, MP4 and MOV. The built-in application of the device can play them without the help of other players.
The only minus of this player is its slowness and sometimes incorrect operation in the background. It often happens that when switching between windows and working in parallel with other applications, the player closes the current video tape and has to re-launch it, since there are marks and there is no need to look for the place of the last viewing.
Audio player
The USB flash drive for the iPhone 5S is also equipped with a standard audio player by default. Although the capabilities of such standard programs are small, they fulfill their direct function with interest: a sheet of tracks, repetition, sorting and some mixes.
Unlike a video player, there are no problems with working in the background, and the software works as it should without any complaints. The program is intended only for listening to mp3 formats, so you will have to go to the AppStore for the rest of the exclusive file types.
Photo
The USB flash drive for iPhone 6 can independently synchronize with the gadget cameras, copying the captured photos to the phone (the function is activated separately in the program settings). The photo application itself is more suitable for backing up and transferring images to a computer than for full viewing of images - for this purpose it is better to use the built-in iOS software.
The Sync program allows you to free up disk space for new photography with two touches, saving the user from manual cleaning of the entire image gallery. There is a convenient slide show function with a customizable animation and frame rate for your gallery. Another advantage of this software is the ability to back up your contacts data, in whole or in part.
Also, iXpand has one interesting feature that can password-protect your photos and videos. It is enough to enable it in the settings, after which all the files end up in a special storage folder and are password protected. You can unlock content using either a numerical combination or the built-in Touch ID system.
When the password is first set, the device will ask you to enter a secret combination, after which the rest of the session involves working in protected mode until the end of its work. When you restart the program, you will need to re-enter the password.
Summarizing
In its price category (5000-9000 p., Depending on the amount of memory) iXpand is perhaps the best option for the average user of iOS products that do not require professional multimedia capabilities from their gadget.
The closest analogue of this device, also noteworthy, is a Leef USB flash drive with similar characteristics and functionality. It differs from the above model in its appearance and ergonomics. It is made in the form of an arc with similar ports.
It makes sense to spend money on such a device, if only to watch any video without any problems, especially since ordinary iPhone gadgets have regular memory within 16-32 GB, which will fit no more than five films in normal quality. And having in the help a 128 GB flash drive, you significantly expand your multimedia capabilities.
All software flash drives, as a rule, are translated into Russian and easy to learn, and a regular set of programs includes a set of all the necessary functions for the device to fully work: video, audio, information protection, data backup, easy sorting and much more.
Manufacturers of such gadgets add a share of “invisibility” to the design of their devices so that they do not interfere with the full work with the phone and the user does not feel any inconvenience. And although the manufacturer has succeeded significantly in this, some fans of flash drives still have some discomfort from using third-party gadgets in tandem with their phone. Someone gets used to them, but someone has to abandon the innovation due to psychological or other circumstances that interfere with the full work with the device.
Pros of a flash drive for an iPhone:
- simple and relatively fast file transfer between your PC and iPhone;
- the ability to protect video and photo materials - both already captured and filmed in the current session;
- full synchronization of gadgets for contacts and photos.
Minuses:
- low data transfer rate and work, generally characteristic of models from a low price category;
- limited functionality (compared to additional paid software) of video and audio programs;
- difficulty adapting to “something behind” the phone.