There are a number of things in mobile that can be maddening, but one of the worst for me is a device that lacks storage. Even my powerful EVGA Tegra Note 7 lacks the storage I want, but fortunately, it sports a microSD slot to help make that a non-issue. It’s especially great since a 64GB microSD card can be had for under $40 – not too shabby.
One problem with most microSD cards though has been their speeds – especially with higher-density models (32GB+). With its latest UHS-I microSDHC/XC release, Kingston helps remedy that problem. These cards, offered at 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, offer read speeds of up to 90MB/s (3x USB 2.0 throughput) and 45MB/s on the write (1.5x USB 2.0). It seems highly unlikely that any mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, would be able to fully saturate the capabilities here, but it will make copying data off of or onto the card much smoother when it’s plugged into a USB 3.0 reader.
Kingston’s press release doesn’t make mention of suggested prices for these new cards, but I found the 16GB model for $15, and the 64GB for $45. If interested in these cards, it’s important to pay close attention to the store page – ideally, it should list the card speeds. You can also tell the difference by their look – these UHS-I cards have gold writing on them, and black packaging (rather than Kingston’s typical white).
But what about devices without a microSD slot? For that there’s on-the-go, or OTG, flash drives. For the most part, these are like regular flash drives in that you can plug them into your PC and transfer data, but what sets them apart is a second connector – a microUSB one. Because of this design, you’re able to plug the drive into your PC to copy content over, and then plug it into your phone or tablet via its main USB port to access the data there. It’s really a brilliant design, and one I think could have existed long ago. There is one important fact worth mentioning though: These drives are designed for Android, so don’t expect them to work in a device with a different OS.
When Kingston released its first microDuo drives earlier this year, they came in a USB 2.0 flavor, which I admit seemed a little odd. After all, while the mobile device won’t likely be USB 3.0, your PC definitely has such a slot – and who doesn’t want the ability to copy over some data quicker? But I digress; Kingston’s taken care of that problem with the new DataTraveler microDuo 3.0. I couldn’t find this drive available online, but given the previous 32GB version could be had for $20, and the 64GB for $45, I wouldn’t expect too much of a premium here.