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Nifty Mini Drive - MicroSD adapter

That's a really good idea.

What kind of read/write speeds can be expected from the device though? I know it's dependent on the SD card used, but whats the best out there at the mo?
 
The impulse buying side of me wants to buy this, but 512gb in my mbp seems to be more than enough. Any other benefit besides additional storage? Faster read/ write?
 
i love the idea but with Sd cards having a read and write speed of 30-45 Mb/s...its a no for me.
I know SanDisk has a 128Gb at 100 Mb/s, but they are priced at $1500
 
I'm sold as soon as the 128GB microsd cards are released.

I currently use a 128GB SDXC card (Lexmark 400x) for running virtual machines and storing my iTunes library. This is mostly out of convenience so I can easily move them to my 13" MBA for travelling or as a backup computer.
 
Ifti said:
That's a really good idea.

What kind of read/write speeds can be expected from the device though? I know it's dependent on the SD card used, but whats the best out there at the mo?
Click to expand...
Well, something around 17Mb/s write and 30Mb/s read, that's what Sandisk UHS-1 is capable of (approximate numbers, don't remember exact speed)

High-end full-size SDXC cards are somewhat faster and go up to 90Mb/s sequential but they still suck at random and aren't worth it compared to almost any SSD out there. Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 will simply destroy it, so I wouldn't use SD for speed dependent applications. For media storage, aforementioned MicroSDXC is fast enough.
 
Common.Sense said:
Too expensive. You can make one yourself or get the one from Dell.
Click to expand...

Most current SD-microSD adapters come in the size of regular SD cards in order to maintain compatibility with conventional SD card slots. Depending on the adapter design, you cannot simply saw off a portion of the adapter (to make it flush with the MBA/MBP), and expect it to work. If you do manage to get to that point without bricking the adapter, how do you take it out of the slot?
 
Nifty MiniDrive : Add 64GB of storage to the rMBP without extra bulk

I just found this Kickstarter project which looks pretty cool, basically it's a microSD to SD card adapter that's designed to blend perfectly with the design of MacBooks. It fits flush and uses the same kind of anodized aluminium to be as invisible as possible


b86b06a22260b38938ddf8138a3df740_large.png



There are 2 models, one is for MBA and the other for MBP/rMBP/iMac. It's 30$ including shipping to North America or Europe. It doesn't include a microSDXC card, so you'll have to buy one. Amazon sells a 64GB one (the highest capacity currently available) for 55$ which brings you to a total of 85$ for 64 extra gigabytes.

64GB isn't that much but since the SDXC standard can theoretically go up to 2TB I imagine we'll start seeing 128GB and 256GB microSDXC cards soon enough and that will be a better alternative than lugging an external hard drive around. Of course SD cards are not meant for high performance but it can be cool to have the extra space for music or movies.

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoCTkRcZWTY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd7AyTU_wIs

Kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1342319572/the-nifty-minidrive

I'm thinking of ordering one myself and get a high capacity microSDXC card whenever they're available.

EDIT: This post was in another thread an a mod moved it, that's why it looks out of place.
 
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This is a perfect solution for people wanting a place to store music, movies, backups, or other things where high-speed is not critical. The fact it's removable would be a benefit for those types of media as well.
 
NMF said:
Such a brilliant idea.
Click to expand...
Brilliant?

Really?

You've got to be kidding.

Only would Apple get a free pass for bad design.

Or perhaps they should brag about the "Worlds Only Laptop" with a funky shallow SD Card Slot.

Notice how everyone is so eager to buy this product after paying Apple a premium price for the computer?

Even worse... the MBP has had this problem since they first put a slot in it a few years ago. Apple's independent ways never end.

How disgusting...
 
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Fishoil said:
This is just an FYI. Don't kill the messenger. There is already a cheaper and more universal minidrive. It is a bit uglier however with the pullout tab instead of the custom plate design, it fits into different mac units. They are selling on ebay & Amazon ($20). No idea who came first, nifty or the minidrive.

http://theminidrive.com

http://amzn.com/B00AL1385C

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271132354168
Click to expand...

No reason to kill the messenger. The message isn't that jarring. IMO the Nifty is worth the extra $15 for the fit/finish/build quality over pfaffing about with a standard MicoSD adapter with plastic tab stuck on it for $20.


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NewishMacGuy said:
No reason to kill the messenger. The message isn't that jarring. IMO the Nifty is worth the extra $15 for the fit/finish/build quality over pfaffing about with a standard MicoSD adapter with plastic tab stuck on it for $20.
Click to expand...

Assuming it ever delivers. I don't even bother reading the updates anymore!
 
I hope it delivers because they've charged my credit card for the drive and a card, along with a lot of other people's money. But it seems that they are taking care to get it right, and it is supposed to be shipping this month.
 
NewishMacGuy said:
http://theminidrive.com

http://amzn.com/B00AL1385C

No reason to kill the messenger. The message isn't that jarring. IMO the Nifty is worth the extra $15 for the fit/finish/build quality over pfaffing about with a standard MicoSD adapter with plastic tab stuck on it for $20.


___
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, NiftyDrive does not make one for the MBPr 13. The depth on the SD card is different between the different MacBooks.

I contact the seller of "minidrive" to see if their unit would fit. He claims it does not stick out.
 
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They're saying it can "increase the available amount of RAM on the MacBook Air." Or maybe I read that wrong.

But I didn't know OS X supported external RAM disks. Either way, using it for RAM would be stupid - 1333MHz DDR3 transfers at 8GB/s, but Ultra High Speed microSD can transfer at about 0.3GB/s, max. Standard microSD's can transfer at about 0.01GB/s.
 
w00t951 said:
They're saying it can "increase the available amount of RAM on the MacBook Air." Or maybe I read that wrong.

But I didn't know OS X supported external RAM disks. Either way, using it for RAM would be stupid - 1333MHz DDR3 transfers at 8GB/s, but Ultra High Speed microSD can transfer at about 0.3GB/s, max. Standard microSD's can transfer at about 0.01GB/s.
Click to expand...

They are referring to storage space, not RAM. They clarified that on the site.
 
james714 said:
Unfortunately, NiftyDrive does not make one for the MBPr 13. The depth on the SD card is different between the different MacBooks.

I contact the seller of "minidrive" to see if their unit would fit. He claims it does not stick out.
Click to expand...

My suspicion was correct. I looked on his website again and it looks like MBPr 13 is no longer listed as a compatible model. Strange why anyone would spend $20 when you could buy the exact same item for $2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-SD-TF...1GB-2GB-4G-8G-16GB-Card-Adapter-/180885597224

The only difference is you need a pair of scissors and some scotch tape. Even for the risk adverse, you can buy two cards for $4 just in case your first cut was not good.
 
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