Do I Need a Media Hub? My Daughter Thinks So…
For Top Ten Reasons Why You Need a Media Hub -The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.
When my daughter heads back to college this month, she’ll be packing up all her Apple technology along with her new media hub. While she was doing her back to school shopping, she decided that a media hub would be the most efficient and productive way to work (and play) on her Apple devices. She also suggested that I get one.
What is a Media Hub? Why You Need a Media Hub …
I wasn’t even sure what a media hub was, so I didn’t know why you need a media hub. After doing a little digging, I learned that a media hub is a wireless card reader that connects to your device via WiFi. It allows you to expand your storage capability through the use of SD cards and USB drives. In addition, media hubs can act as mobile chargers, providing supplemental power to your device. Some function as mobile routers as well.
I also learned that wireless card readers are not difficult to use. In fact, it’s literally as easy as 1-2-3. Seriously, just three steps and you’re good to go.
Step 1: Connect your media hub/wireless card reader to your computer and fill your SanDisk SD card (or your USB flash drive) with the media or data (or both) that you want to access.
Step 2: Install the app that goes with your media hub/wireless card reader.
Step 3: Run the app and connect it to your media hub/wireless card reader. Voila! You can now access the media or data (or both) on your device — stream video, view photos, listen to music, access documents, you name it!
I think I just might need a media hub, for a variety of reasons. Why? Never fear — I’m prepared to explain why you need a media hub.
Top Ten Reasons Why You Need a Media Hub
- You simply can’t bring yourself to delete photos (and you’re running out of room on your phone).
- You don’t trust the Cloud. I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.
- You want/need to work (or play) seamlessly across multiple devices.
- You use Apple devices, which don’t have SD card compatibility.
- You want to back up the photos you have on your devices, just in case.
- You want to record videos but don’t necessarily need them stored on your phone, and you don’t want to upload them to YouTube.
- You’re a music lover with a library that is out of control — yes, you can run out of room.
- You can stream your music without draining your battery.
- You don’t want to lose your papers or, heaven forbid, your research.
- You want to share files with other users. Use a media hub and your roommate, study partner, friends, and family members can access documents, photos, and whatever files you want to share without having access to your entire system.
- You have a ton of apps and it would be a lot easier to back them up than to download them again.
Once you’ve determined why you need a media hub, you need to do two things. First, be sure to get one with the “pass-through” feature. That means your device will stay connected to WiFi while also being connected to your media hub.
Second, you will need to pick up some SanDisk memory cards or USB flash drives. Why? Because they give you the ability to do whatever you want on your smartphone, tablet, and computer. Oh, and your camera and camcorder!
It won’t take you long to realize that a SanDisk USB flash drive/SanDisk memory card + your media hub = freedom. Ah, sweet freedom — there’s another reason why you need a media hub! And on your journey to that freedom, you can get SanDisk memory recommendations to determine (and meet) your needs.
However, when you use non-Apple products, you can choose to forego the media hub route as long as you have a SanDisk memory card. You can record even more 4K Ultra HD and Full HD video, with transfer speeds up to 60MB/s for smartphones, tablets, and action cameras. If you’re using a DSLR camera or camcorder, you will experience speeds up to 10X faster than ordinary cards, and transfer speeds up to 80MB/s. Of course, if you need photo storage recommendations, SanDisk can point you in the right direction.
The SanDisk USB for iPhone and iPad lets you make easy transfers between your iPhone, iPad, and computers and frees up valuable (and limited) memory with both lightning and USB connectors. The SanDisk Dual USB for Android devices allows for easy transfer between your Android device and computers. SanDisk microSD cards can provide fast, reliable data storage between 4G and 200G for your smartphone or tablet.
Best Buy is your go-to place for all things SanDisk. Just pay Best Buy a visit to find the right SanDisk memory recommendations. You might need some help (I know I did!) figuring out which SanDisk memory card or USB flash drive is right for your storage needs, whether it’s your smartphone, your camera, your camcorder, your tablet, your computer, or your media hub — or all of the above!
Great post! You really list out all the reasons and how to go about getting one in easy to understand information. We often hear these terms of technology and freak because we don’t understand them. Thanks for the list and explanation of what it is. More storage is always nice.
Well, I’m not educated on a media hub! I’ve heard of them but was clueless. Thank you for the lesson!
I like the review on the Media Hub. I will be needing one soon, so this helped out.
Huh. I still don’t think I need a media hub.
This is a great idea, I had no idea what they were for! My fear is that the house will burn down and it will all be gone so I’m dealing with the cloud, even though I don’t fully trust it either. (We’ve had 4 houses burn in our family, I don’t have much confidence in it not happening!)