PQI just released the Gmobi iStick, an Apple MFi-certified Lightning Duo USB portable storage drive. This OTG storage device is designed for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch and is available in multiple storage capacities.
Although there are Lightning-to-USB converters readily available in the market, PQI’s Gmobi iStick is the first Apple-certified USB device to have the Apple Lightning and USB interface in one portable storage device, according to PQI. The benefit of this product is the versatility to backup your iOS mobile device and expand storage capacity without direct access to a computer.
PQI also includes the Gmobi iStick App which allows for direct multimedia streaming, file management, and easy backup.
Tom’s Hardware got a firsthand look at the product last month at Computex. It is wider, but shorter than the average USB thumb drive, and has a sliding mechanism. Slide the mechanism one way, and you have the Lightning connector. Slide it the other way, and you have the USB interface. As you can see from the picture to the right, it is sleek when plugged into an iPad Mini. The Gmobi iStick app user interface fits well with the simplicity of iOS devices.
The Gmobi iStick is available in multiple capacities and colors. U.S. pricing is not available yet, but pricing in Taiwan has been released as follows: 8GB (NT 2990, or about $100); 16GB (NT 3890, or about $130); 32GB (NT 4990, or about $166). The Gmobi iStick comes at a premium but fills a need for Apple mobile users looking for storage on the go.
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