Apple’s iOS devices are great, but they all share the same significant problem: the lack of USB support. Transferring files from your iPhone or iPad to a computer only works via the cumbersome iTunes or via Wi-Fi connection. You can of course fall back on third-party cloud storage apps and services but you might have security and privacy concerns to worry about.

Here’s a simple solution to the problem: the iStick.

The iStick is the world’s first USB flash drive that also comes with an integrated, Apple-approved lightning connector. This allows you to transfer files to and from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch to anything that is accessible via USB support. You just have to switch between the USB and lightning connectors as needed. Here’s a closer look at the iStick.

20+ Weird And Unusual USB Products 20+ Weird And Unusual USB Products That USB port on your PC is not just for connecting USB flash drives or USB data cables.... Read more

Introducing The IStick

As mentioned in the introduction, the iStick is the first USB flash drive to also come with an integrated Apple lightning connector, allowing it to connect to both iOS devices and computers. The iStick does this with a novel sliding mechanism that exposes the USB 2.0 connector on one side, and the Lightning connector on the other.

It works like any other USB flash drive. Just plug it into your Mac or PC, then drag the files into it. To move your files to your iDevices, just plug it into your iDevice via the lightning connector. It comes in various capacities, from 8GB all the way up to 128GB. and supports almost all of the common file formats including video, audio and documents. No more file compatibility problems.

Device Compatibility

As far as device compatibility is concerned, the iStick is compatible with the following Apple devices:

iPhone 5, 5s, 5c

iPad (4th Generation) / iPad Air

iPad mini / iPad mini with Retina display

iPod Touch (5th Generation)

The iStick comes with a free iPhone/iPad/iPod touch iOS app which you can use to transfer your files from the iStick to your Apple mobile device. You can play 1080 HD movies, check out documents, listen to music and view photos straight from the iStick Ã¢ÂÂ no file copying, streaming or syncing required. iStick also works as a great backup device for all your files from your Apple devices.

The iStick is available in two colors, black and white, but you can get a free upgrade to a silver aluminium edition if you share about the project on your Facebook. There is also a gold edition aluminium iStick (128 GB) available for pledges of $1000 to the project.

The iStick is currently being funded on Kickstarter and is already well past its funding goal. Pledges differ depending on capacity, and they start at $79 for the 8GB model up to $299 for the 128GB model. Expect to pay an additional $10 if you’re ordering from outside of the United States.