When Google contracted with Asus to build the Nexus 7 Tablet they made a strategic decision to limit the OTG or On-The-Go capabilities of the microUSB slot so that it would not allow the booting of a USB drive or SD card for storage. Now there's been lots of debate as to the reasoning, rationale and intent of these omissions but suffice to say it was a combo of cost savings and attempts to encourage users to use the Google Play store and cloud storage to purchase content.
While that makes sense strategically for the company there was also an unintended result in that it made it really difficult for a Nexus 7 owner to view or load content on their device that they already owned as well as only provided limited storage on the Nexus 7 for when the user is traveling and can't access extra content from the cloud because they don't have Wi-Fi access.
Well I'm happy to announce that over the last couple of days an enterprising developer that goes by the name 'HomeySoft' has introduced an app that largely solves the storage problem for Nexus 7 users on the go. With the 'Nexus Media Importer' you can stream music, movies and photos and import other files from a USB drive or SD card reader and the only piece of additional hardware you need is an OTG Cable. Most importantly there's no rooting required! Here's a video to show how you set it up.
Now just to be clear this enables you to take a USB drive or SD Card reader and card with you and stream your media to your Nexus 7 and even copy it over. What it WON'T allow you to do however is move data the other way. In other words you can't EXPORT or save anything to the USB drive or SD card you have connected. But still...this is a real boon to us Nexus 7 owners that feel the storage crunch when we don't have access to Wi-Fi. You can load all your extra movies, music and files to a USB drive and just slip it into your bag with your Nexus 7 wherever you go. You can even connect directly to many digital cameras and view and import your photos directly to your Nexus 7.
The 'Nexus Media Importer' is still a work in progress in some respects in that there's some extra features that a lot of users are asking for such as full screen photo viewing (right now it's in a dedicated preview window), but the developer has done some really great work here and frankly this is a 'must have' app for any Nexus 7 owner. It immediately solves one of the biggest limitations of the tablet. You can grab the 'Nexus Media Importer' in the Google Play store at the link below for just $1.99. If you'd rather test out your Nexus 7 to get an idea of how it works first you can try out the sister app....the 'Nexus Photo Viewer' which will let you view photos but doesn't have the same import and streaming ability of the full app. So guys...what do you think? Is this a 'must have' app for your Nexus 7?
You can pick up a microUSB to USB OTG Converter Cable for your Nexus 7 from Amazon with a lifetime warranty
Here. There are cheaper (usually flimsier) alternatives on Amazon but this one worked well for me and I like the warranty.
Thanks to forum member bob7794 for bringing this app to our attention!
