I had the opportunity to try the i-FlashDrive MAX (starting at $79.99). PhotoFast gave me the accessory to try and it saved me a lot of trouble. My daughter had a lot of photos and videos on her iPhone that needed to be backed up. I was able to treat the i-FlashDrive like a USB drive and copy the files to it from her iPhone and then plug the drive into my Mac and use it as a normal Flash Drive. You do need to use PhotoFast's free app to access files within iOS, but that's true for all of these types of drives.
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I liked that it is available in 16 GB, 32 GB or even 64 GB sizes, but it does get expensive as you go up in size. The drive has a built-in clear cap that protects the Lightning tip, and, surprisingly, a removable (and easy-to-lose) cap for the USB port. The drive is compact and easy to take along in your gadget bag. I wish the transfers were faster, but it may be a limitation of the iPhone. Keep in mind that the Lightning tip might not fit with rugged cases so you might need to remove your iPhone from its case for such purposes.
Pros
- Available in 16 GB, 32 GB, or even 64 GB
- Lightning and USB ports
- Compact and easy to take along
Cons
- Slow to transfer large files or large number of files
- Might not fit with rugged cases
- Requires proprietary software
- Can be expensive
Final Verdict
If you need to transfer files to or from an iOS device, the i-FlashDrive MAX from PhotoFast is a great way to do so, on the go, without the hassle of iTunes.
