yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 7 General] Censura_Umbra:
They make these things called Micro USB to USB adapters. As long it has Host support (which devs can most certainly add) you are all set.

So stop worrying and buy the 8GB model

EDIT: Once you get your Nexus, please post a review of YOUR USB-OTG setup so that we can have a quick reference to know which products work and which don't.

Post in the thread:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1766260

Mod edit: this thread should be used for all discussion relating to USB-OTG
[Nexus 7 General] Paten:
Nah. I'll make do with the tablet I have until somebody wants to sell me the tablet I want. I'm hoping Asus will still sell their 7" tablet instead of throwing all that business to Google.
[Nexus 7 General] Brad387:
I know someone who has a massive music collection - almost 500GB in size - and, whilst he likes the looks of tablets, he cannot find one that would allow him to comfortably store even a fraction of his music on. If he were to buy a Micro-USB to USB adapter, could he then connect his hard-drive into the Nexus 7 (or any other Android device for that matter) and listen to his music off there?

---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 PM ----------

Which tablet do you presently have?
[Nexus 7 General] Paten:
An original 7" Galaxy Tab.
[Nexus 7 General] dcheng11:
Being able to hook up an external HDD is great, but not the most practical thing to do on the go. Seems kind of silly to have to take out a hard drive on a short bus/train ride or something, but I suppose it's better than nothing.

Anyone else thought of some cool ways to maximize storage space?
[Nexus 7 General] Censura_Umbra:
1) There is the cloud. 20,000 songs is no laughing matter. And on a short bus ride is ample.

2) You can store a few of your favorite albums ON the tablet. For emergency, no data use.

3) Use the Storage method while at home or during long trips.
[Nexus 7 General] tzarp990:
You can easily expand with micro USB sticks which you can't even notice plus they cheaper and you get more storage
[Nexus 7 General] nathris:
Because that worked out so well for the Kindle Fire. Oh wait, it didn't, because the USB port is 3.3V and needs an external power source for host mode.

I'm going to wait and see if the Nexus 7 has proper USB OTG support before I even think about getting one.
[Nexus 7 General] gbohm:
did you really just say one should use an extern hdd for storage?!

first we would need to check the power level and then if it really would work who in the right mind would carry around a hdd all the time

the nexus 7 will fit in my jacket pocket most male people will not carry around a purse.

if i am at home me and most people will use a network drive.

i don't think i will need more than 16gb but we don't need to defend googles poor decission to not offer more space we are no apple fan boys and storage is mad cheap.
[Nexus 7 General] Cares:
Not a huge concern for me...just a minor inconvenience. I think I'll opt for 16GB model for only $50 more.
[Nexus 7 General] badbeat33:
do you have a link for a micro USB stick?
[Nexus 7 General] RowanOak:
Doesn't the micro USB operating in host mode suck down the battery (assuming that it has the appropriate power coming in...many that support this don't!)

As far as a portable hdd being too big, use a flash drive. I've seen 32 gb ones for around $30, with 64 gb not being too much higher. Of course, that only works if you don't have to have a powered hub.
[Nexus 7 General] funkyblue04:
Why is it so hard for Google to put in an SD Card slot?
[Nexus 7 General] Nospin:
Question about this guys. So, assuming I load a few movies on a USB drive, I should be able to plug it into the tablet (via a micro USB-USB connector) and play the movies straight off the drive?

I only ask because I have been wanting this thing for a while, and loading 4-5 movies on it was going to be a huge plus, but 16GB is really cutting it close.

But if all I have to do is plug in a USB drive....I think I would be OK with that.
[Nexus 7 General] aaronpoweruser:
yes, it uses power but considering its flash memory it isnt a crazy amount

the price point and size, you cant get everything for $200, if you require an sd card get a galaxy tab 7 2, they charge 50 more for a dual core cpu and worse screen but include a sd card slot
[Nexus 7 General] Cares:
Not hard at all. They clearly don't want to.
[Nexus 7 General] funkyblue04:
Tab 2 is crap. I have a Tab 7.7 but still stuck on Honeycomb. Screen is most important to me and Tab 2 is crap. I want pure Google. Google refuse to put in sd slots because they think the cloud is so great. It's not. Right now I have 76gb of music and movies on my Tab.
[Nexus 7 General] RowanOak:
I think we're going to wait to hear from one of the guys that actually got their hands on one...I couldn't imagine why they would run the power (I think it's 5v instead of 3.3v, but don't quote me) to the micro-usb, but stranger things have happened. If they DIDN'T for some reason, then you'd be able to, but only with a powered USB hub, so it would be a little inconvenient to lug around.

I agree though. If I can hook in a flash drive without the extra power, then I'm good to go, and will be picking one up ASAP.
[Nexus 7 General] BlackHoleSlam:
who the hell needs that much music like over kill i put songs on my phone that i will listen to i highly doubt your friend listens to all 500gb's of music
[Nexus 7 General] aaronpoweruser:
you get what you pay for its that simple, you my friend have a dilemma so chose your priorities (pure google or micro sd clot) and pick your poison. Google had a price point and they did what they had to do to stick to it, so yes while It may only be a $5 addition, google has small enough profit margins as it is considering the kindle fire is sold at a loss and this has much more expensive hardware. So, I wouldn't expect google to take more than a 5% loss on this tablet, this is a business after all
[Nexus 7 General] rferrett:
Would I be right in saying though that this means we are now certain it is a software limitation rather than a hardware thing?

And presumably once there is a dev scene, and dare I say it CM10 for the NX7 stickmount should work properly?

Ralph
[Nexus 7 General] breakingspell:
Hello, everyone, just got done pre-ordering my Nexus 7, can't wait for it to ship, and namely, in the context of this thread, i can't wait for an AOSP/CM ROM to be ready, as that will likely allow us full access to OTG capability, from what i've gleaned from this thread, the Nexus 7 does provide the proper voltage to peripherals.

My Galaxy Note refused to mount external storage in any device or format while it was running Samsung's stock gingerbread ROM, but CM9 has the proper configuration to allow it. If the Nexus 7 natively supports connecting a keyboard and mouse (read it a few posts back), then surely it can provide support for external HDDs and flash drives with the proper firmware.
[Nexus 7 General] shonangreg:
This is not in answer directly to your question, rferrett, but, you know, google may have crippled the Nexus 7 not for price, MHL and full USB-OTG support are cheap, but to save part of the market for ASUS, acer, Samsung, etc.

If the Nexus 7 was all it could be, and it was being sold at a price point so low subsidized by reliance on google' play that no one else could compete, then google would have just bought the sole responsibility of maintaining and innovating the tablet market (at least at 7").

I would honestly much rather deal with the challenges of fixing Jelly Bean on the Iconia A110 or one of the other open and complete tablets instead of trying to crack open google's Fire II, er, Nexus 7.

It seems you guys are wanting to do this the hard way blindly. And bully for you if you can hack the Nexus as well as the Fire was. xda and the alternative ROM community can save $50 on hardware. The masses aren't going to use your hacks, though. The Nexus 7 is going to be locked down for 98% of its users. And the other 2%, tens of thousands, will be on forums like this asking for your help in getting their Nexus 7 working "right" too.

I don't want to discourage you all from liberating the spirit of the Nexus 7, but I do want to take the wind out your sails thinking this is the biggest, most rewarding challenge coming out soon. The upcoming, uncrippled, Kai-based 7" $200 - $300 tablets would benefit mightily from a dynamic hacking community -- and acer, ASUS, etc. would be more likely to welcome any contributions to getting Jelly Bean fixed (no adobe flash?) and working on their tablets.

Choose your battles wisely. You just seem to be charging at a google's windmills because they're there.
[Nexus 7 General] oldspook:
This drive is on sale at Newegg right now for $179
[Nexus 7 General] jtc276:
Unless ASUS is releasing the MEMO 370t tablet by the time my Nexus 7 arrives on my doorstep, I could care less what Kai has in store. And hardly anyone will worry about the hardware limitations. You can probably count on one hand how many people are actually going to open up their device and attempt to solder an HDMI port to it. Hardware isn't the issue here at all. The only thing that really needs fixed (USB-OTG) seems to be a software limitation that can easily be fixed.
[Nexus 7 General] sciwizam:
Here's a Googler's (Brian Swetland) app idea for implementing USB Mass Storage on the N7.

https://plus[DOT]google[DOT]com/u/0/116035013937554489222/posts/KiqFpDpDWto
[Nexus 7 General] rferrett:
Alas my tech ignorance means I haven't a clue what that means.

Anyone provide a translation for a dummy?
[Nexus 7 General] SilentMobius:
He's suggesting re-implementing. USB mass storage and fat32 in an app (not at the OS level) that way the app could read from a USB mass storage device and write to the internal storage but the USB device would not be exposed to the filesystem.

The app would behave in a similar way to most FTP clients, in that you would be able to copy to and from the remote (USB device) but other application would not be able to see the files unless they had been copied to the internal storage.

It's a lot of work for something that should be included.

That's said I can understand why they didn't. There is no concept of "This file was here a moment ago but now it's gone" in Android. If USB mass storage was mountable by default and the mediascanner could see it you'd end up with entries in the mediaprovider database for the music and pictures on your storage, then the moment you unplugged it any app using the mediaprovider would get _very_ confused. It would get even worse if you then plugged in a different device full of media.

I suppose there are 2 use cases for USB mass storage

1. I have a file on this SD/USB stick/portable HDD and I want to copy it to my Android devices own storage

2. I want to play media (songs/movies/etc) directly from this SD/USB stick/portable HDD

#1 is much more likely to happen "officially" than #2. #2 _will_ confuse Android apps and cause problems when you switch out storage (Unless you are _very_ careful).

Just to remind people about USB OTG: This just means that a device can function as client _and_ host. All this talk about "partial" "crippled" "full" USB OTG is nonsense. If the device can supply power and act as a USB host and client then USB OTG is complete and fully functioning.

Not supporting USB mass storage, or supporting it but not auto mounting volumes is just a standard USB implementation issue, not an OTG issue.
[Nexus 7 General] rferrett:
Thanks for that.

Just like the old Vega days with you having to painstakingly explain the mkv stuff to me!

Do you think a hack solution for rooted users will happen that will allow the direct playing of video files off a thumb drive is possible? More to the point do you think it will happen?
[Nexus 7 General] Cor-master:
Hey I got a suggestion assuming you can get flash drives to work. They sell micro sd cards with little flash drive dongles. They are about twice the length of the plug of a normal usb drive. Assuming they sell a small usb to mini USB adapter it would work great and take up little space at all

Sent from my VTC HIVID using the xda app
[Nexus 7 General] rferrett:
The problem is as things stand the NX7 cannot directly read media off a USB stick.

Though it is looking, I think, increasingly encouraging that at least for those prepared to root and hack that will be solvable.

In fact I have, on this basis pretty well 90% decided to get one. Just need to convince myself to actually spend the wedge!
[Nexus 7 General] MrJESUSatWork:
It'll be a small wedge, though (comparatively) :D
[Nexus 7 General] rferrett:
Yeah!

I am sure ill get one. The fact that it will be stocked in the high street here in the UK, means I can see going in town to get a prescription, and coming home with a NX7 :p
[Nexus 7 General] androidkid311:
I didn't want to open a thread about this and not sure it its been mentioned lol. But pretty sure it has lol. But can you get a micro usb-hdmi cable? In case I want to watch my stored films on my HD TV.. xD.
[Nexus 7 General] Fall Guy:
You can get one but there isn't a way to get it to work with the N7, it doesn't have the required hardware for it to function.
[Nexus 7 General] Cor-master:
I can't help but wonder if the lack of mhl is because they want that stupid nexus q to sell with it

Sent from my VTC HIVID using the xda app
[Nexus 7 General] okantomi:
Re: USB host mode, I read the Nexus 7 manual (available for free download from the Play Store), and it appears the it does support USB host mode.
[Nexus 7 General] japzone:
Where do you recommend I get my OTG cable from? I checked Amazon and Newegg and there are several but some of them say they are for Samsung devices while others don't. I'm not sure of the differences and don't want to end up buying a cable that doesn't work for one reason or another.
[Nexus 7 General] rferrett:
Is a standard type of cable. Doesn't matter what sort you get. I bought the cheapest one I could find!
[Nexus 7 General] japzone:
Thanks, I decided to go with the one on Newegg that had good reviews.
[Nexus 7 General] scoobydood:
So as a newbie here (please don't flame for a noob question) with an order in already to Google for a N7 16GB.

1. Am I right in thinking all I need to get is a USB OTG cable and I will be able to copy files (say using ES File Explorer) from a memory stick formatted in FAT32 direct to my N7? Will I need to mount the memory stick first? If I do how do I go about doing that?

2. I have FTP server on my HTC Desire HD that I use to move stuff from my PC's to/from my phone I am assuming I will be able to use this if the above is not possible without rooting or installing a homebaked ROM on my N7.

TIA

:)
[Nexus 7 General] rmm200:
You will need "stickmount" from the Android app store. See the description there - and you have to be rooted.

When you mount your Nexus to a PC, you will only see storage internal to the tablet.
[Nexus 7 General] RMXO:
Best way to copy files is to either plug into PC, which doesn't need STickMount or root access. Or you can use apps like Airdroid or File Expert (need FTP program like WinSCP on the PC).

Root & StickMount is only needed if you use an OTG cable.
[Nexus 7 General] Cookiez_n_malk:
Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Google Play Music, etc.
[Nexus 7 General] Cor-master:
Yeah im about that sort of stuff too but it's not for everyone. Thie thread is about trying to figure out a solution for those who still want physical storage

Sent from my VTC HIVID using the xda app
[Nexus 7 General] Censura_Umbra:
The cloud is great....when you have decent wifi. But if you want to watch a movie on the go, you are going to need some decent hard storage.
[Nexus 7 General] airprakken:
The only up close picture I have seen of the Nexus 7 usb connector appears to show a micro-a connector (i.e. slanted sides). A pic is here: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus-7-Teardown/9623/1

My understanding is that, in order to support any host mode, it must use OTG which requires a single micro-ab connector (i.e. vertical sides).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_OTG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_host

Are these sources incorrect? Or do I misunderstand?
[Nexus 7 General] wis3m0nkey:
Wireless card reader

Hey e1,

Here is something I'm trying to build, but all those products have waiting period so won't be able to give an ETA.

Stuff required:

Round1:

1. Raspberry Pi

2. Wifi-dongle

Round2:

1. Li-Ion battery and charging circuitry.

Here is how I'm planning it:

Get a Raspberry pi, Attach Wifi-Dongle to it (connected to same wireless as N7), Keep Samba Share (server running)

On N7 get a file explorer as Estrongs (any other supporting network discovery)

And done you have wireless card reader (though some part of card will be needed for booting linux)

Second round would be solder charging circuitry to RaspberryPi, and connect Li-Ion rechargeable battery through charging circuitry.

And you have rechargeable wireless card reader :)

My N7 is yet to be shipped and raspberry Pi have whopping 12 weeks of waiting so I won't be able to report any progress until I get my hands on at least raspberry pi (I can test with phone / laptop etc.)

If anyone else happen to have these components you can try them out.

And I think all over price will be less than 50$ (thats cheaper than airstash plus I'll be happy to do it myself ;) )
[Nexus 7 General] nickster1:
Sorry. Deleted.
[Nexus 7 General] Tricky103:
This can help.

A bag with internal storage

https://www.google.com/producer/edi...wgG8w0AswwSw/timbuk2_reveals_new_bag_with_int
[Nexus 7 General] dksandimas:
3G connection

Can we use broadband sticks thru USB-OTG? Im dying hrd to get 3g connection to the nexus7 :D
[Nexus 7 General] altrikdout21:
Exactly my thoughts. I readied my cloud services for my 8GB, then I realized your point, and switched over to 16. Plus most cloud places have an upload limit, and I wouldn't be uploading my shows and movies anyway as that would take forever...
[Nexus 7 General] Cor-master:
Yeah I don't care much about the sd slot but that being said I want the 16 gig model. My flyer is 16 gigs so I don't wanna downgrade, and hopefully the Nexus is partitioned better. The flyer only gives you a measly 8 gigs for user storage and if you start buying games with additional data, that storage goes quick. It's partitioned really weird. I mean I know 8 gigs and 16 gigs is pre formatted amounts but still typically formatting 16 gigs gives you a little over 14 to use. My old captivate was formated with a 2 gig partition reserved for internal memory, and 12 gigs to the user so it was right on par with that, but both my HTC devices have 4 gig for internal storage, 8 gig for the user, and 2 gigs are just missing!
[Nexus 7 General] maped:
wifi stick yes bro ;)...root + cable OTG + app Stickmount (Play store) or kernel mod + Airstash (wifi + mass storage 8/16GB)
[Nexus 7 General] SirWill:
I think he was meaning 3G or 4G wireless access directly to Sprint/ Verizon/ AT&T/T-Mobile/Insert Wireless company here...
[Nexus 7 General] maped:
I understood what he meant ;), but now it's not possible because need a specific android app for manage the company connection

Inviato dal mio Nexus S con Tapatalk 2
[Nexus 7 General] altrikdout21:
I'm waiting to get a 4G LTE phone and tether that! Better deal than a mobile hotspot I think. But a 3G/4G dongle would still be cool :D
[Nexus 7 General] dksandimas:
I have seen this and I think it would be possible...

http://www.melvindaveconsulting.com...t-to-internet-using-smartbroglobe-tattoo-usb/
[Nexus 7 General] colonel187:
The devs made this possible with the Iconia tab wifi only version. People where using 3g modems with the usb host port.
[Nexus 7 General] Chinpokomon:
What didn't you like about the Ziio? I'm not sure I've actually seen one in the wild, but when I saw initial press releases, it sounded like a fascinating platform. There were aspects about it that reminded me of Transmeta.
[Nexus 7 General] easycompany:
+1

Definitely interested in finding out whether this is possible. :laugh:
[Nexus 7 General] Chinpokomon:
This is what the ports are supposed to mean. In reality, OTG is about the underlying chipset. Provided the USB chipset has an OTG mode, the shape of the port becomes less important.
[Nexus 7 General] BamAlmighty:
I doubt android supports RNDIS or CDC so how would the modem work with it anyway? especially if it needs missing drivers.
[Nexus 7 General] easycompany:
Not sure if these are relevant links but it seems like there has been some reported success in the Android community. In particular, Acer A500 and Asus Eee Pad Transformer.

See links: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=14603952

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1151097
[Nexus 7 General] ArmorD:
If it was possible to connect an ext hard drive on N7,I would most certainly buy this tablet. Lack of storage is the one and only thing that bothers me.

Sent from my wallet
[Nexus 7 General] kiewee3:
Just use a flash drive
[Nexus 7 General] Outrager:
It's still annoying since you have to format it to EXT3/EXT4 then you have to copy it into the internal memory before you can use it. For an HD movie that might take awhile or if you have the 8GB version that means you have to always reserve 1GB or so just to copy a movie onto it.
[Nexus 7 General] kiewee3:
Oh so you can't just hook it up and use it? That was my understanding.. whoops
[Nexus 7 General] Outrager:
Not at the moment. Maybe someone will hack something in when more people get their hands on it, but just assume you can't. Never buy something for what it can be, but what it is.

(I did that with the Chumby and regret it.)
[Nexus 7 General] colonel187:
That's what I said like 5 posts ago!
[Nexus 7 General] rferrett:
Has the hardware /software thing being definitively settled?

Is the NX7 capable of reading of a thumb drive with a software block or is it more fundamental?

I had thought this would get fixed but some recent posts around teh interwebs making me question this again
[Nexus 7 General] WinDroidGuy:
I might have missed it in the 24 pages of posts, but I saw that people couldn't play files directly from their external source even though they could see their files.

I am rooted, unlocked and using Stick Mount, FX File Explorer and VLC Media Player on my N7...I am able to play files directly from the external SD card, but I can't FF or anything else while playing my media :(

I will play around more with it and see what I can manage, this is going to be valuable to me. I can use my N7 as a portable media center for work etc and not have to worry about the storage or having WiFi with me. I've got TONS of portable media I can use :)
[Nexus 7 General] c0m47053:
Just a note that Chainfire has updated StickMount with N7/JB support.

Check out his tweet about it here.

The guy is a legend, as usual.
[Nexus 7 General] rferrett:
Yaya! Right NX7 getting ordered tonight then. Bosh!
[Nexus 7 General] DagsJT:
https://twitter.com/PaulOBrien/status/222285272660967425
[Nexus 7 General] WinDroidGuy:
Confirmed, after I updated StickMount I can now play files right of my sdcard/flash drive via VLC Player or VPlayer :)
[Nexus 7 General] onurdndar:
A lot of cheap tablets support this, it's usually just a matter of compiling the kernel with the modem chipset driver.
[Nexus 7 General] david279:
stickmount+usb drive+bubble upnp will make this a great media streamer.

Sent from my EVO 4G LTE
[Nexus 7 General] mewantnexus7:
Now that this works, can someone give us a battery estimate for playing videos from internal memory vs a flash drive?
[Nexus 7 General] rmm200:
You will find battery life is great, as long as you keep the display turned off.

Difference in battery life between internal memory and external memory (flash) is probably unmeasurable.

Seriously, the display takes by far most of the battery.

On any Android device, check the status that shows who is using battery.

EInk devices run so long because their display takes almost no current.
[Nexus 7 General] maw230:
Are you using a powered usb hub or no?