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:
I know most of you already know about cloud storage, but let me run through both real quick (sections are conveniently hidden so you're not assaulted by a wall of text immediately).
1. Cloud Storage
So that leads us to our second option, one that's new with ICS and the Galaxy Nexus:
2. USB Hosting
TL;DR version: you can either upload your files to a cloud storage service like Dropbox or plug in a USB drive and access your files from there.
So, there you have it! If this post helped you, feel free to click the little "Thanks" button. If this post angered you, feel free to rant angrily below. If this post kidnapped your wife and children, I'm afraid I can't help you, but you should contact the local authorities
So, what's the solution? Essentially, you have two options:
- Cloud Storage
- USB Hosting
I know most of you already know about cloud storage, but let me run through both real quick (sections are conveniently hidden so you're not assaulted by a wall of text immediately).
1. Cloud Storage
Cloud storage is the storage of your files and media on the "cloud", i.e. someone else's servers. There's a few services that offer this, the most famous being Dropbox (2GB+ free storage), but there are other options such as Minus (10GB+ free storage) and Box.net (idk how much free storage) as well. Then there's also specialized services such as Google Music and Amazon Music as well for, you guessed it, music.
There are a few advantages and disadvantages to cloud storage.
Advantages
There are a few advantages and disadvantages to cloud storage.
Advantages
- No need for extra hardware (i.e. SD card, thumb drive)
- Convenient
- Automatic synchronization
- Um, I'm sure you guys can think of more, I'm drawing a blank right now
- Requires constant connection, either via data or wifi
- Potentially slow over 3G or weak Wifi
- Streaming movies is difficult, if not impossible (at least with Dropbox, etc.)
- Eats up a limited data plan quickly
2. USB Hosting
USB hosting was a feature introduced in Honeycomb on tablets. Now, with the release of Ice Cream Sandwich, the feature will be brought to phones as well!
So, what is USB Hosting? Most of the time, you hear it being mentioned when talking about game controllers, and yes, that potential is there. However, USB hosting allows you to do much more than just use your Xbox controller on your phone. It essentially allows you to plug in any USB storage device into your phone, as long as you have the right adapter.
The Galaxy Nexus, like many phones, has a micro USB port (well, technically, it's an MHL port but, you know). There are plenty of adapters out there that will connect a USB device to your micro USB port, and they're dirt cheap (here's one).
So, when you combine
this:
with this:
you can easily have up to an extra 64GB of storage to access your movies and music when you need it. When you're done, you can unplug it and keep it in your pocket. You're not restricted to thumb drives either, you can plug in an SD reader or even a 1 TB portable hard drive if you wanted.
There's a disadvantage here, too, though, namely, that you have to carry a jump drive (or hard drive, depending on how much space you want) around.
Video Demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giJXF5pIITc
So, what is USB Hosting? Most of the time, you hear it being mentioned when talking about game controllers, and yes, that potential is there. However, USB hosting allows you to do much more than just use your Xbox controller on your phone. It essentially allows you to plug in any USB storage device into your phone, as long as you have the right adapter.
The Galaxy Nexus, like many phones, has a micro USB port (well, technically, it's an MHL port but, you know). There are plenty of adapters out there that will connect a USB device to your micro USB port, and they're dirt cheap (here's one).
So, when you combine
this:
with this:
you can easily have up to an extra 64GB of storage to access your movies and music when you need it. When you're done, you can unplug it and keep it in your pocket. You're not restricted to thumb drives either, you can plug in an SD reader or even a 1 TB portable hard drive if you wanted.
There's a disadvantage here, too, though, namely, that you have to carry a jump drive (or hard drive, depending on how much space you want) around.
Video Demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giJXF5pIITc
TL;DR version: you can either upload your files to a cloud storage service like Dropbox or plug in a USB drive and access your files from there.
So, there you have it! If this post helped you, feel free to click the little "Thanks" button. If this post angered you, feel free to rant angrily below. If this post kidnapped your wife and children, I'm afraid I can't help you, but you should contact the local authorities