iStick adds a flash drive to your iDevice

How much storage do you have in your iPhone or iPad? For many users, the answer is "not enough." The more photos, videos, apps, and other stuff you accumulate over time, the more you find yourself wishing for more space.

There are, of course, ways to expand iDevice storage, including cloud storage and wireless media hubs. But why not a simple flash drive you could plug right into the Lightning port? To date, there's never been such a product.

There will be. The Hyper iStick is a USB flash drive with a built-in Lightning connector. For the moment it's merely a Kickstarter project, but the iStick has already earned more than five times its original $100,000 funding goal -- with nearly a month left to go.

The drive offers a standard USB connector at one end and Apple MFi-certified Lightning at the other, with a physical switch for flipping between the two. Hyper will offer the drive in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities.

An included app will allow you to copy and move files between your iDevice and the iStick. You'll also be able to view documents, photos, and videos; listen to music; and back up snapshots from your Camera Roll.

Another big plus, of course, is that you can pop the drive right into your PC to transfer files.

Now for the bad news: The 8GB iStick is expected to have a retail price of $129. The 16GB iStick: $169. 32GB: $199. And a 64GB version will run you a jaw-dropping $299.

To put that in some perspective, you could buy an Iogear MediaShair Hub for $55 (from Amazon) and a 32GB SD card for around $18 (from Newegg). It wouldn't be plug-and-play storage, but it would be storage you could share with multiple devices (connected via Wi-Fi). Plus, the hub is also a backup charger and mobile router.

So, much as I love the idea of the iStick, the price would prevent me from ever buying one. That said, early backers can pre-order the drives at a discount, so if you're interested, now's the time to get in. They're scheduled to start shipping this August.