All iPads When is Apple going to get it; a USB Port??

marc55 · Oct 19, 2013

Just read an article on USA Today in which besides color, and a better camera, folks want a USB Port.

The article also notes "Apple's tablet market share has tumbled from 60.3% in June 2012 to 32.4% in the same quarter this year"

I doubt if they are even considering a USB Port, because the iPad 5 is supposed to be thinner.

I just don't get how a company that was so smart, would rather stick to it's guns, and gradually lose significant market share, than add a USB Port that everyone could use?

Oh well......

Carl Sagan · Oct 19, 2013

Has Apple's share of the tablet market dropped or has the market got bigger?

Brian Y · Oct 19, 2013

I've used an iPad every day since the first gen's launch date - and not once have I thought "I really wish I could plug a USB device in". I did buy the camera connection kit, and always use the SD reader, not the USB one.

sonicrobby · Oct 19, 2013

I dont want a usb port. Id prefer it be thinner! Why do people even use usb drives anymore? Maybe we should teach them of things like dropbox, box.com, google drive

I do however wish iOS would use more of a common file system. I hate having the same files spread across several apps taking up storage.

marc55 · Oct 19, 2013

Carl Sagan said:
Has Apple's share of the tablet market dropped or has the market got bigger?

Both actually

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In addition to the USB, I would like to see a Micro SD Memory Expansion Slot.

Brittany246 · Oct 19, 2013

I'd like an SD card slot, but idk wtf I'd use a USB port for.

noodlemanc · Oct 19, 2013

I don't, really. On my Android tablet I've got a SD card, but it's a pain in the ass to transfer stuff using it so I just use dropbox/google drive/mega/mediafire etc to transfer files. If you've got a big broadband data plan and fast Internet it beats USB drives or SD cards hands-down.

Truefan31 · Oct 19, 2013

Wait so you can put movies in Dropbox, then play them on your ipad? What video player do y'all use, or do y'all convert first then put in Dropbox?

g35 · Oct 19, 2013

Brittany246 said:
I'd like an SD card slot, but idk wtf I'd use a USB port for.

I'd love to use it for printing and transferring files to/from a USB stick with apps that support iTunes file transfer.

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Truefan31 said:
Wait so you can put movies in Dropbox, then play them on your ipad? What video player do y'all use, or do y'all convert first then put in Dropbox?

I think VLC supports reading video files from your Dropbox

donnaw · Oct 19, 2013

I would certainly like an SD slot if I could store media (TV, movies, etc) and play from it. Of course that's exactly why Apple will never put one in. People would keep a library of media files on SD cards rather than pay big bucks for more storage. And Apple really sucks the $$$ for storage. They won't lose that cash cow.

Oh, not not everyone has access to wifi all the time (like on long plane flights, or waiting in a DR office, etc).

Night Spring · Oct 19, 2013

USB is so yesterday. Things like these are the future.
http://www.sandisk.com/products/wireless/flash-drive/

Truefan31 · Oct 19, 2013

g35 said:
I'd love to use it for printing and transferring files to/from a USB stick with apps that support iTunes file transfer.

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I think VLC supports reading video files from your Dropbox

Hmm so use Dropbox to put shows and movies on, then use vlc player to play them on my ipad?

Darth.Titan · Oct 19, 2013

Truefan31 said:
Hmm so use Dropbox to put shows and movies on, then use vlc player to play them on my ipad?

If your video files are in an iTunes-friendly format, you can play them directly in the Dropbox app.

Night Spring · Oct 19, 2013

Truefan31 said:
Hmm so use Dropbox to put shows and movies on, then use vlc player to play them on my ipad?

I think there's a size limit to transferring files between apps. Best bet is to convert to mp4 or m4v, then you can stream directly in Dropbox. Also works in Skydrive.

s2mikey · Oct 19, 2013

It would be nice but it ain't happening. Apple does very well with extra storage upcharges on devices and if people can just use USB drives or whatever else then they are likely to get a smaller amount of storage on the purchased device.

That, and it doesn't play well within that walled garden paradigm.

I don't mind, it won't stop me from using iPads. The apple tablets are still the best tablet "experience" you can have , IMO.

Truefan31 · Oct 19, 2013

Night Spring said:
I think there's a size limit to transferring files between apps. Best bet is to convert to mp4 or m4v, then you can stream directly in Dropbox. Also works in Skydrive.

Ok so convert to a iOS friendly format using handbrake, then put it in Dropbox. From there I can play on iOS devices?

Night Spring · Oct 19, 2013

Truefan31 said:
Ok so convert to a iOS friendly format using handbrake, then put it in Dropbox. From there I can play on iOS devices?

Yup!

Carl Sagan · Oct 19, 2013

Brian Y said:
I've used an iPad every day since the first gen's launch date - and not once have I thought "I really wish I could plug a USB device in". I did buy the camera connection kit, and always use the SD reader, not the USB one.

Yup. It's a false desire, one of those 'I really want x' even though x is rarely if ever used when it's had. Much like a DVD drive on a laptop...

M87 · Oct 19, 2013

Or they could at least increase the usefulness of their existing USB adapter. I use it all the time to connect audio interfaces, microphones, and midi controllers. Why not make it possible to access external drives as well?

Truefan31 · Oct 19, 2013

Night Spring said:
Yup!

Awesome. I dunno why I didn't think of it before but it's nice

Powrie · Oct 19, 2013

We don't need hardware USB anymore because you can do it with software.

I use a program called File Hub but it used to be called USB flash drive.

Basically it makes your lightning link into a USB.

But what is even better is that you don't have to convert video files. It will upload and play .avi, mkv, ect

And it has more online storage options then vlc

Truefan31 · Oct 19, 2013

Powrie said:
We don't need hardware USB anymore because you can do it with software.

I use a program called File Hub but it used to be called USB flash drive.

Basically it makes your lightning link into a USB.

But what is even better is that you don't have to convert video files. It will upload and play .avi, mkv, ect

And it has more online storage options then vlc

That sounds awesome. I'm gonna look into it.

bobright · Oct 19, 2013

When are these people going to get it; buy a laptop instead?

pikachu2k7 · Oct 19, 2013

A flashdrive or a printer port would be really nice to use with the iPad. However, a USB would really limit how small/thin Apple could make the iPad.

takeshi74 · Oct 19, 2013

marc55 said:
I just don't get how a company that was so smart, would rather stick to it's guns, and gradually lose significant market share, than add a USB Port that everyone could use?

What evidence do you have that a USB port would drastically improve market share? It seems that you, like most others, simply assume that something that you need/want is something that everyone needs/wants. At least provide some evidence that the lack of a USB port is the driving factor for their loss of market share.

All iPads When is Apple going to get it; a USB Port??

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