USB Capability???

[DDorrell86]

I am one of the people that has yet to give in quite yet and buy and Ipad. I want to so badly but there are a couple of things that really turn me off and I was curious what other people thought about them.

I know the Ipad is not (yet) a computer replacement. One thing that makes it not a replacement for me is the limited capacity, with Ipads currently containing only 16, 32, or 64 GB of space. My Ipod touch is at 64 and is nearly full WITHOUT my pictures from Iphoto being on it. Obviously as time goes on the space will increase as it always has in the past. However my biggest gripe with this is the fact that the Ipad does not offer than ability to connect usb devices such as an external harddrive. With the new OS coming out in November, is there any possibility of Apple adding the ability to use an external harddrive for added space. I feel that if I were able to store everything I would like, then there would be no debate on whether I would give in and buy one or not. I know that it is not out of apples reach to accomplish what I am hoping, but I don't know if apple has any plans to actually do it. What do you all think about the idea and what do you all think the chances of apple doing it are. I know we can't see the future, just asking opinions.

 

[iPadCharlie]

I have iOS 4.2 and I am sorry to report that this functionality is not a part of the new software.

 

[Studor13]

I believe that if your iPad is jailbroken, then it is possible to connect the USB port from the camera connection kit to an external hard drive.

Connect External Hard Drive To iPad Using Camera Connection Kit - iPhone Hacks

 

[DaveSt]

Apple is not going to do any such thing until they are forced to by competition. They simply won't give up that ridiculous premium they can charge for extra storage right now. If they allowed for easy external storage there would be almost no reason for people to buy anything but the 16GB models.

 

[Hasty]

I expect it has more to do with battery life than preventing you from using an external and slower form of storage.
It's meant to be a portable tablet not the base for " a build your own desktop".

 

[DaveSt]

I expect it has more to do with battery life than preventing you from using an external and slower form of storage.
It's meant to be a portable tablet not the base for " a build your own desktop".

Using a memory card isn't going to make much of a different in regards to battery life. You can certainly give Apple a pass if you like (and you could very well be right for all I know) but I just see dollar signs on this one. You want more storage? Cough up a couple hundred bucks and Apple will be happy to add $30 worth of storage for you.

 

[photocat]

i tested a camera connection kit, it will support a card reader with a usb connection. It will not recognize a thumb drive place directly into the camera connection device; or not the one i tried.

 

[RAC]

This is very contrary to the original Apple II which had plug in memory chips (which admittedly came loose occasionally) and 8 expansion slots. At the time it was the standout feature for Apple compared to the competition.

Starting with the original Mac, there was a complete turn around to closed boxes. Non replaceable batteries being another example.

I suspect that part of the reason for the lack of access to the file system and external storage (forcing us to use iTunes) has to do with legacy Digital Rights Management from the iPod. That's the kind of thing that you see when a concept such as the iPod OS is simplistically ramped up to be used on the iPad.

I assume the competition from other devices will force a change. I must say though that as such devices appear, they seem to be more expensive than the iPad so we should possibly give Apple some credit here.

 

[RAC]

Connect External Hard Drive To iPad Using Camera Connection Kit - iPhone Hacks

This looks promising, the main issues at the moment being having to mount the hard drive from an external computer and having to jailbreak At least it shows that it is technically possible.

I assume that GoodReader, iFile etc could have a mount/unmount feature built in, if Apple would allow such a thing through the App Store. Otherwise it would be jailbreak time again.

It's disappointing to see that, given all the above, external power would be required.

 

[DaveSt]

You need external power for the hard drive because the Ipad doesn't supply enough power through the docking port. You do not however need external power to use a USB stick with the camera connection kit. Being able to use a decently large USB stick is good enough for me.

 

[kierandill]

I suppose if I spent much time on airplanes I would care more about this. But between Zumocast, Air Video, and Orb, I have virtually no media on either my iPad or Windows Mobile phone.

 

[RAC]

You need external power for the hard drive because the Ipad doesn't supply enough power through the docking port. You do not however need external power to use a USB stick with the camera connection kit. Being able to use a decently large USB stick is good enough for me.

Agreed. This occurred to me after I made the post. A 32 GB SD card would suffice for me. So there is hope that developers could add external storage support to their Apps, if Apple allows it.

 

[RAC]

I suppose if I spent much time on airplanes I would care more about this. But between Zumocast, Air Video, and Orb, I have virtually no media on either my iPad or Windows Mobile phone.

My interest is in backing up photos while on the road. The camera kit allows you to upload the images from an SD card and view them. I don't think that that is an officially sanctioned way to recover the images from the iPad if you damage or loose the SD card. You if you run out of space you might also want to copy the files somewhere else to make more room on the iPad.