SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick Aims to Alleviate Your Abandoned microSD Slot Woes

[dgstorm]

Does Samsung's recent decision to abandon the microSD slot on their Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 and other products have you down? For those who have a legitimate need to carry around several GBs of music, pics, videos or data, SanDisk has a new product that might alleviate your pain.

It's called the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick, and it comes in various storage sizes from 16GB all the way up to 128GB. The device is basically a USB flash drive that has its own built-in wireless connection. It comes with its own app for either iPhone or Android that allows your smartphone or tablet to connect wirelessly to it so you can share files and store what you need to off the device.

Along with the built-in Wi-Fi chip, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick also has its own built-in battery which can support a single stream of data for up to 4.5 hours on a charge. The device is already available at various price points (from $29.99 for the smallest to $99.99 for the largest), and is remarkably affordable. Here is a link from Amazon (they do not seem to carry the smallest 16GB version, but you can select a size from 32GB, 64GB & 128GB): Amazon.com SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick 128GB for Smartphones Tablets and Computers SDWS4-128G-G46 Computers Accessories

 

[dgstorm]

What do you guys think? Could this device do a good impression of a microSD stick? Will owning something like this be enough to make up for the loss of the slot on the Galaxy Note 5?

 

[TisMyDroid]

I wonder how well this will do? I think that the price and that it will use data (especially for those on limited data plans) will cause people to choose other options. I think what will probably take off are the flash drives that offer both a USB and micro USB connection. They are much more affordable, do not use data, very easy to connect to your devices and PC, and small enough to carry in your pocket.

With more phones starting to join the non-removable storage game, it will be interesting to see the possibilities that develop for alternative options for convenient expandable storage.

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[Jonny Kansas]

I think it could make up for no sd slot. Sounds like just one more thing to keep charged up though. This might actually be even more handy than an sd card for sharing data with others. Have them connect to the device instead of having to send files back and forth between phones.

I suppose it depends on how handy the thing is to carry around with you too. If I could toss it on my keychain that's always with me, it'd always be handy.

The interface and integration will be interesting. If I can play my music/videos/look at my photos much the same way I do now, I'd be more likely to use something like this, but I'm assuming the app that goes along with the device likely includes a file browser for moving through the data on the device.

Interested to see how this affects battery more than data, as I'd assume it connects via wifi-direct or similar. I haven't played with that tech.

 

[TisMyDroid]

Jonny, you may be on to something... I now want to put my dual usb-micro usb flash drive on my keychain. That would be perfect.

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[94lt1]

I hope it works better than their flash drive and app..I bought the 64 gig version...backed up my turbo and then did an fdr..worked great that time..now 5.1 comes along..I did my backup ..fdr...and then it can't restore. So I had to send it back...ugh..of course the new one works fine

 

[Ollie]

Samsung has not announced that they will not include a microsd in the Note 5. All of that talk was based on an opinion piece on sammobile which the entire internet then ran with.

 

[wicked]

This might actually be a pretty good solution for no micro sd slot devices. If I ever get a device with no micro sd slot, I would give this a try.

 

[TisMyDroid]

It would be great to get some feedback on real life usage from someone who owns one. How well does it connect via wifi, how fast does data transfer, how much data can be transferred before needing to recharge, etc.

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[Jonny Kansas]

I'm wondering if you connect to this thing via wifi if that means you love your wifi internet connection? I know bluetooth can be connected to a few devices simultaneously, but I've never seen my phone want to connect to 2 different access points via wifi. I'm almost tempted to pick one of these up to check it out, but I'm not totally sold on the idea that I might use it often enough to justify it.

 

[Ollie]

Throw this into an external battery pack and I would buy it immediately.

 

[Ollie]

I wonder how well this will do? I think that the price and that it will use data (especially for those on limited data plans) will cause people to choose other options. I think what will probably take off are the flash drives that offer both a USB and micro USB connection. They are much more affordable, do not use data, very easy to connect to your devices and PC, and small enough to carry in your pocket.

With more phones starting to join the non-removable storage game, it will be interesting to see the possibilities that develop for alternative options for convenient expandable storage.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

This doesn't use data! That makes it super appealing.

 

[mountainbikermark]

I use a Wi-Fi SD card between my camera and devices. They are sweet to use. The range isn't anything like my router but I can transfer stuff from my camera to my phone while the camera is on the other side of the room and still have 5 bars of Wi-Fi. With the Transcend Wi-Fi card I can connect to up to 3 devices simultaneously but it slows the transfer speeds way down to do so.

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[dgstorm]

Samsung has not announced that they will not include a microsd in the Note 5. All of that talk was based on an opinion piece on sammobile which the entire internet then ran with.

Sadly, there was more than just an opinion piece that people ran with. There have been leaked renders and case images that seem to confirm there will be no microSD slot. I certainly hope you are right on this one, but I wouldn't want to set myself up for disappointment.

 

[TisMyDroid]

This doesn't use data! That makes it super appealing.

Maybe I'm wrong but I'm guessing it will use your data if you connect using your 3g/4g data the same way connecting your wifi tablet would use data running off your 3g/4g phone's data plan.

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