Inateck USB 4 Port HubSome Android devices have micro-SD slots and some, like the Nexus 7, do not. If you listen to a lot of music or like to load video to your device, you know it’s easy to run out of space. Without on-board expandable storage, what are your options?

I just came back from a camping trip, and I used my HooToo TripMate Elite for streaming video to my iPad, but maybe you don’t want to carry something so large, or you’d rather not be broadcasting your files on a WiFi connection. That’s where the Inateck USB 4 Port Hub could come in handy, assuming you’re using a compatible Android device.

Inateck USB 4 Port Hub

It’s small, light and would fit comfortably in a pocket, purse or messenger bag. Build quality seems good, although I wouldn’t drop anything heavy on it. It has four USB ports, and you can plug in flash drives, mice or keyboards into the various hubs. I haven’t been able to test it with a mouse or keyboard, but it does work well for transferring files or watching video.

You just plug it into the micro-USB slot of your Android device, and it will show up as a removable drive in your file manager. It’s almost as handy as having a USB port on your device. You can access and play files directly from the USB drive, or you can copy them to your device. Need to back up some photos? You can also copy from your device to the drive.

I can see lots of uses for such a device. If you like to keep your personal and work files separate, it’s good for that. With four ports, you could organize your files in a number of different ways. You could take video with you on vacation. I’m sure you can come up with other uses.

There is one caveat. It won’t work with all Android devices, only ones which are OTG compatible. For example, it didn’t work with a friend’s Droid RAZR. How do you determine if your device is compatible? Here’s an article which mentions an app, which I haven’t myself tested.

Overall, it’s a nice device, and, assuming your device is compatible, it could greatly increase your storage space.

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