Kickstarter AU Focus: ExoDrive Cases – add a case and microSD card to your phone

The issue of expanding storage on Android phones is a contentious one, every time a phone without a microSD card slot is announced, it invariably leads to an explosion in comments discussing it. There’s been various microSD expansion drives and obviously you can use USB OTG cables to expand storage, but what if there was a case which incorporated protection for your phone, as well as a microSD Card slot? Enter ExoDrive.

ExoDrive is the brainchild of Brisbane based problem solver Bhadrajee Dahanayake who has been frustrated by the issue of expandable storage and decided to do something about it. The ExoDrive is a case which will protect your phone, while also allowing you to add up to 128GB of microSD storage to your phone, including phones which already have a microSD card slot.

The microSD card storage in the ExoDrive requires the phones to support USB On-The-Go (OTG), and the team at ExoDrive has created an initial list of phones which they will offer cases for. This list includes the Motorola Moto G, as well as Moto X Gen 1 and Gen 2, HTC One M7 and M8, Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5, LG G2, OnePlus One and the Nexus 5 and 6. They also plan to offer cases for a range of iPhones from the iPhone 5 upwards after the Kickstarter project is completed.

The technology developed for the ExoDrive allows you to plug the phone into a PC and have the microSD card accessible while charging the phone at the same time. For those phones with an existing microSD card slot, you will be able to access both the microSD cards at the same time.

The ExoDrive will be offered in three colour choices: Black, Grey and White, with an option for Kickstarter backers to choose a higher end reward and receive a milled aluminium case – although the aluminium case will be a two-part design to allow it to fit to your phone. The materials the ExoDrive will be manufactured from isn’t quite settled as yet, with Polycarbonate and Nylon based plastics being looked at for the outer casing, while a silicon based inlay is being looked at for the inner casing. All in all, it sounds as though the case will protect your phone, as well as the internal microSD components quite well.

At this stage the team has 3D printed a model of the Exo-Drive with prototyping and manufacturing expected to be completed in Brisbane. While the 3D printed prototype looks a little rough, they’ve done up some renders of the final product which looks pretty decent.

The ExoDrive Kickstarer has only 28 days to go, but has already attracted 177 backers and half of it’s $10,000 goal. Rewards start at $1, but to actually receive a case, you’ll need to back the $35 reward which includes shipping via Australia Post, and if that milled aluminium case sounded good, you’ll need to go for the $67 reward. Rewards are expected to start shipping out in March 2015.

If the ExoDrive sounds like something you’d like to back, head on over to the ExoDrive Kickstarter page and claim your reward early.

As usual with all projects of this type, we are here to inform not advocate backing the project. All projects on Kickstarter have no guarantee that they’ll end up being produced even if their goal is reached, so please ensure you are aware of all the terms and conditions before you back a project.