So, You Want More Storage Space...

[Clancy_s]

For a while now, many of us have been disappointed with the lack of an SD slot on the Galaxy Nexus. With potentially only 16GB of internal memory, it's easy to see how a few movies and apps could eat that up in no time.

So, what's the solution? Essentially, you have two options:

1. Cloud Storage
2. USB Hosting

Have you actually tried usb hosting on the GN or know anyone who's done it successfully? I know it should work but some guys who've tried it over on xda haven't been able to get it to work - one of them with a cable and drive that work with the GS2.

[Q] Usb host on the go - xda-developers

I use linux and was hoping that usb hosting would give me an easy way to get data on the phone, given it doesn't support ums, it'd be nice to know that this actually works real world rather than just being a theoretical possibility...

 

[BigRedNole]

Yes, we all want to have a USB stick sticking out of our phone. For the same real estate on the phone, they could have simply put in a micro sd slot.

 

[rushmore]

Have you actually tried usb hosting on the GN or know anyone who's done it successfully? I know it should work but some guys who've tried it over on xda haven't been able to get it to work - one of them with a cable and drive that work with the GS2.

[Q] Usb host on the go - xda-developers

I use linux and was hoping that usb hosting would give me an easy way to get data on the phone, given it doesn't support ums, it'd be nice to know that this actually works real world rather than just being a theoretical possibility...

You will need to buy a tablet with ICS to get the function (bigger battery to cover the power draw to sustain USB host beyond small flash memory). Even this assumes the device has the needed power bridge in the usb connection, flash partition mapped and the UI designed to support it.

Again, just because the OS supports it, does not mean the OEM has designed the function into the device.

That would be too expensive and impractical to blanket design all devices that way.

 

[Clancy_s]

You will need to buy a tablet with ICS to get the function (bigger battery to cover the power draw to sustain USB host beyond small flash memory). Even this assumes the device has the needed power bridge in the usb connection, flash partition mapped and the UI designed to support it.

Again, just because the OS supports it, does not mean the OEM has designed the function into the device.

That would be too expensive and impractical to blanket design all devices that way.

The OP includes a video of using a GS2 as a usb host and others on xda report doing the same thing, so it doesn't have to be a tablet; given the success on GS2 it seems to me reasonable to hope it would work on the GN but so far it seems not to.

fwiw people have had success using peripherals such as usb keyboards and mice with the GN

 

[Preach2k]

What about people who don't have unlimited data, Could the Cloud make people use more bandwidth thus causing people to pay more money for service?

 

[Kevin098]

THIS IS CONFIRMED Well let me Say something about it, Galaxy Nexus DOES NOT support USB hosting and USB mass storage, but ice cream sandwich does support it. If a given device has a removable SD card it will support USB Mass Storage. If it has only built-in storage (like Xoom and Galaxy Nexus) it will (usually) support only MTP and PTP. Sorry to bring this up but it is true.

 

[Paul1201]

THIS IS CONFIRMED Well let me Say something about it, Galaxy Nexus DOES NOT support USB hosting and USB mass storage, but ice cream sandwich does support it. If a given device has a removable SD card it will support USB Mass Storage. If it has only built-in storage (like Xoom and Galaxy Nexus) it will (usually) support only MTP and PTP. Sorry to bring this up but it is true.

Xooms have a microSD slot and yes it does use MTP. My understanding is by switching to MTP it is possible to browse and view files both locally on the device and a computer when connected via USB. On my OG Droid I always had to connect to a computer and once connected I could not browse the files on my phone until it was disconnected. IMO MTP is a better option.

 

[xinn3r]

THIS IS CONFIRMED Well let me Say something about it, Galaxy Nexus DOES NOT support USB hosting and USB mass storage, but ice cream sandwich does support it. If a given device has a removable SD card it will support USB Mass Storage. If it has only built-in storage (like Xoom and Galaxy Nexus) it will (usually) support only MTP and PTP. Sorry to bring this up but it is true.

Er... no, it's not
USB hosting and USB mass storage are different things
USB mass storage IS NOT supported, because of the "no micro SD card slot"
But USB hosting IS supported, gamepads are working, the only thing that isn't are Flash Drives, and GN's chip DOES support USB hosting, so it's only a matter of time until it's updated to read Flash Drives

Here's a link that proves USB hosting IS supported, although it isn't working YET
http://www.google.com/support/ics/ne...&topic=1650156

 

[gogol]

To OP,

USB Hosting does NOT work on Galaxy Nexus.

So, that is not an option for "more storage" solution for Galaxy Nexus.

Please update your first post.

[Q] Usb host on the go - xda-developers

 

[Kevin098]

Er... no, it's not
USB hosting and USB mass storage are different things
USB mass storage IS NOT supported, because of the "no micro SD card slot"
But USB hosting IS supported, gamepads are working, the only thing that isn't are Flash Drives, and GN's chip DOES support USB hosting, so it's only a matter of time until it's updated to read Flash Drives

Here's a link that proves USB hosting IS supported, although it isn't working YET
http://www.google.com/support/ics/ne...&topic=1650156

Well, galaxy nexus DOESN'T support it either, why? It using the solution of iPhone-like to increase smoothness and performance. If you still don't believe it, google search, that is already many of them complaint about lack of USB hosting.

 

[xinn3r]

It IS supported, but it seems it hasn't been implemented yet. It's mentioned in the event in Hong Kong!

Didn't anyone read my post? Here's the link, AGAIN
http://www.google.com/support/ics/nexus/bin/answer.py?hl=en-GB&answer=1650160&topic=1650156

 

[speede541]

In your link they talk about input devices, but I don't see any reference to thumb drives. I'll have to re-watch the video of the HK event when I have some down time.

 

[xinn3r]

In your link they talk about input devices, but I don't see any reference to thumb drives. I'll have to re-watch the video of the HK event when I have some down time.

Yes, sorry, I gotta clarify, it DOES support USB Hosting, but not specifically thumb drives, that's still not proven
I just wanna say that Kevin098 and gogol are wrong, so that nobody will get confused here
USB Hosting IS supported, but for thumb drives, it's still not proven

 

[Stigy]

To OP,

USB Hosting does NOT work on Galaxy Nexus.

So, that is not an option for "more storage" solution for Galaxy Nexus.

Please update your first post.

[Q] Usb host on the go - xda-developers

It does not work out of the box, but we devs will definitely figure out a way to make this work.

 

[rushmore]

The OP includes a video of using a GS2 as a usb host and others on xda report doing the same thing, so it doesn't have to be a tablet; given the success on GS2 it seems to me reasonable to hope it would work on the GN but so far it seems not to.

fwiw people have had success using peripherals such as usb keyboards and mice with the GN

There is a difference with USB host for supporting input devices and full usb host support to power and in a stable manner, support flash memory beyond a few GB.

Just because ICS supports the function doe not mean the OEM is using it in their design. HC has support too, but most tablets do not have the function, beyond input devices.

Added: Case in point, out of box, full usb host does not work with the Nexus.

 

[Stigy]

There is a difference with USB host for supporting input devices and full usb host support to power and in a stable manner, support flash memory beyond a few GB.

Just because ICS supports the function doe not mean the OEM is using it in their design. HC has support too, but most tablets do not have the function, beyond input devices.

Added: Case in point, out of box, full usb host does not work with the Nexus.

Unless people are not using the correct USB host cable -- that's my hope at least.

 

[rushmore]

Unless people are not using the correct USB host cable -- that's my hope at least.

One of the main Android team ICS devs posted that the Nexus does not have USB host storage support, so seems a done deal not having full usb host support. Various sites link the comments the dev made.

Still, if Sammy did not design the usb connection to support the function, they would not have wasted the money with the needed components. None of Samsung tablets have host support and Google are huge fans for cloud storage. Seems the lack of USB storage is by mutual design with Google and Sammy.

Still the SG2 apparently works and with GB? I wish the SGS2 made it to VZW. Nice device.

Even the video linked above does not have full USB host, since input devices do not work, but smaller flash drives do work. Powered do work though, so a lot better than nothing.

 

[TheRoosevelt]

For now I'll leave the OP as is. I understand that it's possible that USB hosting does not work yet, for some reason.
However, Google claims it does, so I'll leave it to devs and Google to figure out the problem.

 

[Stigy]

One of the main Android team ICS devs posted that the Nexus does not have USB host storage support, so seems a done deal not having full usb host support. Various sites link the comments the dev made.

Still, if Sammy did not design the usb connection to support the function, they would not have wasted the money with the needed components. None of Samsung tablets have host support and Google are huge fans for cloud storage. Seems the lack of USB storage is by mutual design with Google and Sammy.

Still the SG2 apparently works and with GB? I wish the SGS2 made it to VZW. Nice device.

Even the video linked above does not have full USB host, since input devices do not work, but smaller flash drives do work. Powered do work though, so a lot better than nothing.

Where does a main Android ICS devs post that it doesn't support USB host support?

USB mass storage mode has NOTHING to do with USB Host (OTG) mode -- these are two different things. One is for mounting the SDCard volume on your PC for file transferring, the other is for mounting a USB stick or other peripheral on the phone.

[Q] Usb host on the go - xda-developers vs. http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/447899-usb-mass-storage.html

 

[rushmore]

I think we are debating semantics, but not long to find out. The link for the discussion from the dev is linked in several threads.
Will look later, but was linked yesterday at different sites.

 

[Stigy]

I think we are debating semantics, but not long to find out. The link for the discussion from the dev is linked in several threads.
Will look later, but was linked yesterday at different sites.

I just read what I posted and I definitely came off as rude, so let me take a step back and explain why we aren't debating semantics.

The article on reddit from the ICS dev discusses USB Mass Storage mode, which is a protocol that allows a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device to become accessible to a host computing device, to enable file transfers between the two. To the host device, the USB device appears similar to an external hard drive, enabling drag-and-drop file transfers.

The topic at hand in this thread is USB Host Mode or USB On-The-Go (UBS OTG), which is a specification that allows USB devices such as digital audio players or mobile phones to act as a host allowing a USB Flash Drive, mouse, or keyboard to be attached.

The USB Mass Storage mode is not supported because of the lack of SD card in the phone (explained by the ICS dev), this is what is discussed in my USB Mass Storage Mode thread above. The USB OTG mode is something that is currently trying to be figured out over at XDA (my link above from XDA). Phones running 3.1 and higher should support USB OTG (which will allow us to plug flash drives INTO our phone), but for some reason the SGN doesn't seem to support it natively whether its a cable or kernel issue no one is 100% sure yet.

 

[steevo1]

THIS IS CONFIRMED Well let me Say something about it, Galaxy Nexus DOES NOT support USB hosting and USB mass storage, but ice cream sandwich does support it. If a given device has a removable SD card it will support USB Mass Storage. If it has only built-in storage (like Xoom and Galaxy Nexus) it will (usually) support only MTP and PTP. Sorry to bring this up but it is true.

I just found this article while researching this issue:

Ice Cream Sandwich Supports USB Mass Storage, Galaxy Nexus Does Not | Gadget Helpline

 

[Clancy_s]

I just found this article while researching this issue:

Ice Cream Sandwich Supports USB Mass Storage, Galaxy Nexus Does Not | Gadget Helpline

I think it's a done deal that the GN does not support usb mass storage.

USB hosting works differently and I've not seen anything official comment on the GN and usb hosting - as has been said the android engineer on the reddit link was talking about usb hosting.

I've not been to xda this morning, yestereve the sitch was one bloke had tried it with a cable and drive that didn't work on his xoom either and that's known to support usb hosting which IMO left usb hosting on the GN as uncertain.

 

[Stigy]

I just found this article while researching this issue:

Ice Cream Sandwich Supports USB Mass Storage, Galaxy Nexus Does Not | Gadget Helpline

Correct and this what was mentioned above.

We all know and has been 100% confirmed that the SGN does not support USB Mass Storage mode, but let's leave that discussion in this thread: http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/447899-usb-mass-storage.html

 

[xinn3r]

Thank you Stigy! I've been trying to point from the start that USB mass storage and USB Host are different things

USB Mass Storage is confirmed 100% not supported
USB Host still isn't confirmed, because Google says it's supported but it won't work out of the box