Why You Can Trust CNET Add 32GB of storage to your iPhone or iPad for $34.99
From the Cheapskate: Or add 64GB for $49.99. This PNY external flash drive can house surplus music, movies, photos and more. Plus: Buy "Independence Day" for a buck!
CNET's Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page.
What's the storage situation like on your iPhone these days? It's pretty inevitable that the longer you use that phone, the more apps, photos, videos and the like you're going to accumulate. Eventually, you're going to run out of room.
Or, heck, maybe you never had enough in the first place, what with that massive song or movie collection. Either way, you need more storage.
As I discussed a few weeks ago when I wrote about surviving on an iPhone with only 16GB of storage, one often-overlooked option is an external flash drive. Like this one: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the PNY Duo-Link 32GB USB/Lightning drive for $34.99 shipped (plus tax). Even better, grab the 64GB version for $49.99.
Yes, yes, Apple is bad for not giving us expansion slots. (Quite a lot of Android phones are the same way, ahem.) And, yes, this doesn't really "expand" your storage so much as give you a separate place to store your media. There's a lot of to-may-to/to-mah-to here. The important thing to consider is that these normally sell for $59.99 and $79.99.
The Duo-Link is a fairly typical flash drive, but with a slide-out Lightning connector at one end and a USB 2.0 connector at the other. The latter plugs into your PC so you can stock the drive with music, videos and whatnot. Yes it's a bummer that it's USB 2.0 and not 3.0, but I suspect that after your initial transfer, you won't be doing a lot of back-and-forth -- so hopefully the slower speed won't be a day-to-day issue.
The PNY companion app allows you to back up and restore your contact list, transfer files between your iDevice and the drive and play music and movies stored on the drive.
I haven't tried the Duo-Link myself, though I've used similar products, but a couple dozen Best Buy customers rated it 4.6 stars out of 5. Curiously, the 64GB version scored a bit lower with 4.1 stars.
Speaking of similar products, there are lots of them out there -- including drives that rely on removable microSD cards instead of fixed storage. Pay a few bucks more and you can probably score a USB 3.0 connector.
Your thoughts?
Bonus deal: Cheeps! If you were still interested in one of those Spigen Style Rings from the other day, I have good news. Here's a new discount code so you can once again snag one for just $5.99. Use Y25B2D88 at checkout. I haven't decided yet whether I like this better than the Ninja Loop, as it's not quite as pocket-friendly, but I definitely love the kickstand aspects. For six bucks, I don't regret the purchase one bit.
Bonus deal 2: I'd rank "Independence Day" among the all-time great summer popcorn flicks. (Come for the aliens, stay for the something's-in-my-eye Bill Pullman speech.) For a limited time, Google Play is offering "Independence Day" (in HD) for just 99 cents. That's to own it, not rent it. So instead of paying $9 a ticket for the sure-to-be-awful sequel, just screen this for your kids.