Kickstarter backup - Photography usage ?

[Professor1991]

Hi All,

I recently came across this device on kickstarter. Essentially the unit (Which is essentially a power brick) backs up photos on your phone while it charges. Their is no on board storage but their is a secondary USB slot for plugging in USB flash drive/ external hard drive so while your phone is charging, your photos on being backed up onto external medium. Their is also an app which manages the file movement.

The unit also has a MicroSD slot and after inquiring with the creators, it transpires you can you backup whatever is on the MicroSD card onto a USB drive/ external HDD. This explicitly wasn't mentioned in the bio (unless I overlooked it) so I figured it was worth asking. Whilst it doesn't have a slot for a full size SD card, it supports MicroSD so for all those photographers who use them to shoot via an adapter, is this something that intrigues your interest ? I understand many people are often looking for various means of backup and USB flash drives are fairly easy to come by so depending on your configuration, this could be a fairly cheap offline backup solution.

Thoughts ?


https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-backup-and-usb-port-for-iphone-ipad-android/

 

[cambsno]

Seems a bit pointless when most of us have Apple or similar cloud backup as part of our plans?

 

[Professor1991]

Seems a bit pointless when most of us have Apple or similar cloud backup as part of our plans?

It's a fair point, especially in regards to smartphones. I have an Android phone and whenever the WiFi is on, it automatically backs up to Google Photos.

My question was more geared towards photographers who use MicroSD cards to shoot. This is technically a form of offline back up. Is it something someone would consider, even as a fo of backup. I was merely curious as this intrigued me.

 

[tijuana taxi]

I use a card reader with a micro USB plug.
That takes a full size sd or micro sd card which is used to back up to the phone/tablet on board micro sd card up to 128gb

 

[cosmicma]

it looks like a variation of quite a few other devices already out there

over the years iv'e had a few portable backup type devices starting with what was known as an Xdrive a good few years ago to the WD my passport wireless pro

the attraction would be the small size of the hypercube, the downside for me is it's not really a true portable backup device it needs an external power supply and has no built in storage, i cant see the transfer rate being that fast either when using micro sd as a backup source

low cost alternatives would be something like the Verbatim media Share wireless

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Verbatim-9...23&hvtargid=pla-756704676672&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

which does pretty much the same thing but has wireless connectivity and a built in battery / power source that will charge the phone while transferring files in the field so to speak.
the verbatim media share does not have built in storage ( the same as the hypercube ) but can transfer files to SD card or any other usb storage device which is pretty much what's on offer with the hypercube, in my opinion apart from the larger footprint ( slightly smaller than a typical 2.5 inch external drive ) it is a better device all round with more functionality including wireless transfer and not much difference in price.

on the other end of the scale is the much more expensive WD my passport wireless pro

https://shop.westerndigital.com/en-...-passport-wireless-pro-hdd#WDBVPL0010BBK-EESN

which does all of the above and more at a considerable faster pace with the ability to do auto backups from any type of usb storage device to the built in hard drive.

the downside to the Hypercube is the need of an external power source and does little more than an OTG cable on android or a lighting to usb adaptor on an IOS device

 

[Tdes]

it looks like a variation of quite a few other devices already out there

over the years iv'e had a few portable backup type devices starting with what was known as an Xdrive a good few years ago to the WD my passport wireless pro

the attraction would be the small size of the hypercube, the downside for me is it's not really a true portable backup device it needs an external power supply and has no built in storage, i cant see the transfer rate being that fast either when using micro sd as a backup source

low cost alternatives would be something like the Verbatim media Share wireless

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Verbatim-9...23&hvtargid=pla-756704676672&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

which does pretty much the same thing but has wireless connectivity and a built in battery / power source that will charge the phone while transferring files in the field so to speak.
the verbatim media share does not have built in storage ( the same as the hypercube ) but can transfer files to SD card or any other usb storage device which is pretty much what's on offer with the hypercube, in my opinion apart from the larger footprint ( slightly smaller than a typical 2.5 inch external drive ) it is a better device all round with more functionality including wireless transfer and not much difference in price.

on the other end of the scale is the much more expensive WD my passport wireless pro

https://shop.westerndigital.com/en-...-passport-wireless-pro-hdd#WDBVPL0010BBK-EESN

which does all of the above and more at a considerable faster pace with the ability to do auto backups from any type of usb storage device to the built in hard drive.

the downside to the Hypercube is the need of an external power source and does little more than an OTG cable on android or a lighting to usb adaptor on an IOS device

I agree with this. I have the wd my passport wireless pro, the advantage is that it is also a wifi hub and I can see the backed up pics using a wd app on my phone or tablet, even when sat on a train on the way home.

The only feature I wish it had was being able to wifi pics from my eos r to the hdd. You can do it to a phone with the canon app but I can't get it to ftp to the hdd!

T

 

[Professor1991]

Interesting.
I wasn't too aware of these particular devices. Whatever existing knowledge I had involved an online component and my train of thought encompassed this being fairly useful for times when you don't have internet access. But then again, given how internet access is becoming increasingly prevalent, if your in an environment were their is no internet access, the odds of finding a power adapter are lower than normal !

My initial allure of the product was that it was for all intents and purposes, it's a power brick. I found this quite simple and the fact that your photos are being backed up while charging was a concept I found sublime. I went to Dubai last year and I took an abundance of photos on my phone. The hotel had WiFi but it was somewhat limited as I was sharing the room with 2 others so the lag whilst doing something mundane was real. After 2 days, I noticed many photos from a particular day just went corrupt. I just think back and think, this would have been great.

Then again, many people travel with the laptops/ tablets and while the idea of your phone being backed up in the background does seem ideal, you can always just plug it into the laptop, you'd potentially have access to considerably more storage as well.

It's a unique solution to a problem which has already been solved.