Connecting wireless keyboard/mouse, thumbdrive to phone

I've been an MP3/iPod junkie since before there were iPods or Apple heard of MP3 files (internet audio). I have been experimenting with a cable that allows me to connect a wireless keyboard & mouse to my phone's microUSB power/data port and even plug in a USB thumbdrive to my phone. Using the wireless keyboard/mouse I now have dedicated physical buttons to control the audio playing over my phone's Bluetooth or headphone jack. Even if I have some other app visible on the phone I can easily pause/play or change volume without touching my phone. The keyboard I use has a dedicated touchpad.

You need a USB OTG (on-the-go) host cable. It plugs into your phone microUSB jack, typically where you recharge your phone, and you can get USB OTG cables & hubs with 1-4 USB jacks. The cables cost about $3-15. I am linking to an item on Amazon as a representation, not an endorsement of any particular cable.

The advantage of these USB OTG cables/hub is they allow you to connect the most common computer devices (USB) to your phone. It's much easier to type on your phone with a real keyboard and mouse than the on-screen versions. It's also nice to use big thumbdrives rather than be limited to the memory on your phone.

I am linking to the wireless keyboard/mouse to show it, not a recommendation. Using these cables you can use the same mouse/keboard you would use for a desktop pc.

https://www.amazon.com/iPazzPort-Wireless-Keyboard-Raspberry-KP-810-21S/dp/B00KF9IVKC

https://www.amazon.com/Hittime-Adapter-Extension-Smartphone-Tablet/dp/B00FGKXY9S

 

personally I prefer the wireless options
but that's just me... thanks for the links

 

I prefer wireless as well. And my note 3 accepts a 64 gig sd card and has 32 gig onboard. But that is more than enough because I stream most of my music from Slacker or Pandora. The OTG cables are useful for moving large files between phone and tablet, or give a tablet that doesn't have a sd card slot more options for storage

 

Good to have options for different needs.