i-FlashDrive HD Review

While using an iOS device one often discovers that transferring or sharing data is not the easiest thing on the planet as the OS is so locked down. One cannot connect an iPhone with a USB thumb drive or connect it to the computer and just drag and drop files. Imagine if that were possible? Actually, it is possible through a little flash drive called the i-Flash Drive HD. We managed to test one for a bit courtesy our friends at Love4Apple, and we think it’s quite an intriguing product. Read on to find out more.

WHAT IS IT?

That’s probably the first question that comes to mind. What’s the i-FlashDrive HD? Well, from one side it’s your average joe of a thumb drive with a USB connector hanging out, but from the other side we have an Apple 30-pin dock connector (there’s a Lightning connector variant too for the iPhone 5). This means one can transfer data into the drive from a PC using the USB connector and then connect the drive itself to an iPhone or iPad using the 30-pin connector. Once this is done one needs to go to the App Store and download the i-FlashDrive HD app, that will let one access the content on the drive.

Yes, this way one can in a way make up for the lack of the microSD card slot on the iPhone or the iPad and at the same time carry a lot of extra data along which can be accessed. The application allows users to open a variety of files like Microsoft Word documents, video and even music files. It also integrates with DropBox and allows the user to take backup of contacts to the flash drive.

BUILD

By default, USB drives are not the sturdiest things around, but this one was pretty rock solid in terms of build. The plastics in our opinion were on par with what Apple uses on its 30-pin connectors, and both the USB connector and the 30-pin connector came with caps for protection from dust. Overall, we can safely that this drive will stand the test of time, which is a necessity for a product of this kind.

PERFORMANCE

Now, the i-FlashDrive HD is available in many storage SKUs, ranging from 4GB to 16GB. We tested the 8GB version, and we found that it was indeed a handy tool for transferring and carrying extra data that our phone could not accommodate, but at the same time, we felt that the data transfer speeds were pretty slow. This meant that if one was in a rush to transfer, say a movie file off the PC, then the transfer would take its sweet time. Of course, the this being a USB 2.0 drive scorching speeds were not expected, but it took us around 5 minutes to transfer a 1.5GB movie onto the drive. This we felt was particularly slow.

VERDICT

At Rs 6,990 for an 8GB iPhone friendly flash drive, the i-FlashDrive HD is very expensive and does not offer a lot extra storage. But, if you are the type of person who always ends up needing that extra bit of storage and the ability to access the data on an iDevice, then buying the i-FlashDrive is a no brainer. Just remember, you are paying for the luxury of having the ability to access your flash drive data on the iPhone.

You can buy the i-Flash Drive from here.