Hyper announces iStick, the first iOS flash drive with a built-in Lightning connector

One of the great frustrations of owning an iOS product is how difficult it can be to get files off the device without an internet connection. Thankfully a market is emerging for flash drives that can connect to your iOS device. PhotoFast's i-FlashDrive is already available, but Hyper has just announced its entry into the iOS flash drive market with the iStick.

The iStick is the worlds first USB flash drive for iOS that comes with an integrated Apple lightning connector. You can see it above in beautiful GIF form. Sadly, the iStick is only available as a Kickstarter pre-order which just launched. As of the time of this writing, the Kickstarter project had already wildly surpassed its goal of US$100,000 by an extra $26,629.

The iStick will come in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities and will allow a wide range of abilities for iOS users. It can be used to backup photos, videos, and files on the go, allowing you to free up space without having to connect to a computer. Media fans will enjoy the ability to stream movies and music directly from the iStick to their iPad, even if it's a file type normally not native to iOS. Currently Hyper is claiming the device will support MP3, MP4, M4V, MPV, MOV, MPG, MKV, AVI, WMV, RMVB, FLV, 3GP, and GIF.

Here's the device's Kickstarter launch video. When you're done watching, continue reading for a full list of the devices current features and specs. The iStick looks incredible on paper; we can't wait to get our hands on one.

Current iStick App Features

• Free universal iPhone/iPad/iPod touch iOS app

• Music & Movie Player (able to decode MKV, RMVB, AVI, WMV etc.)

• 1080p HD movie streaming, direct playback from iStick

• Photo & Document (Excel, Word, Powerpoint, PDF, iWork) Viewer

• Open files directly on the iStick without the need to copy to iDevice

• Copy/Move files between iDevice and iStick

• File Management (Copy/Cut/Paste/Delete/Rename/Create Folder)

• Backup photos/videos from iDevice Camera Roll to iStick

• Support "Open In" functionality Open files from other apps in iStick app

• Open files from iStick in other apps

• iDevice Contacts backup and restore

Product Specifications Capacity:

• 8GB/16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB

• Connectors: Standard USB 2.0 and Apple MFi-Certified Lightning Connector iStick-to-USB Speed: 12MB/s (Read), 7.5MB/s (Write)

• iStick-to-iDevice Speed: 2.5MB/s (Read), 1.9MB/s (Write)

• Construction: ABS Plastic and/or Aluminum

• Dimensions: 51.6 x 28.6 x 9.1mm

• Weight: 10g

Supported File Formats:

• Video .mp4, .m4v, .mpv, .mov, .mpg, .mkv, .avi, .wmv, .rmvb, .flv, .3gp, .gif

• Audio .wav, .aac, .aif, .aiff, .caf, .m4a, .mp3

• Images .jpg, .tiff, .gif

• Documents .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel); .zip; .ics

Compatibility

• iPhone 5/5s/5c, iPad (4th Generation), iPad mini, iPad mini with Retina display, iPad Air, iPod touch (5th Generation)