The Issue
So, as you certainly noticed, ICS-toting devices such as the Galaxy Nexus do not come with the USB Mass Storage feature anymore.
On Windows, you can mount your storage using MTP (Media Storage Protocol)
On Linux and OS X, from what I've seen, there have been some attempts at building drivers for MTP but those seem to provide quite unreliable connectivity.
On Windows itself, it appears that the protocol takes quite a while to mount your device.
Google does not offer USB Mass Storage anymore in part due to the fact that you would need to unmount your whole storage from your phone to mount it on your computer.
The Solution
Alt Mounter! (I know, such an original name)
Alt Mounter is two things: 1) a small service and its widget, running on your device; 2) a helper running on your computer.
When you use Alt Mounter, mounting your storage on your computer is close to instantaneous. It works like a Dual Mount application; i.e. it does not unmount your storage from your device (it does not need to)
Platforms
Currently, the helper only exists for OS X and Windows (updated 05/06). It should not take long to port it to Linux if there is a demand.
The OS X version requires you to install OSXFUSE or any other FUSE package. It does not install these drivers itself because many MAC owners have already installed FUSE one way or another (for instance, OS X running in Parallels will not require any extra installation)
The Windows version will only work on a fairly recent version of Windows and will require you to install your device manufacturer's USB drivers. It is even more rough than the OS X version!
GET IT
Alt Mounter is currently a beta product. I use it without problem daily on my Galaxy Nexus and my CM9 Touchpad but of course your mileage may vary.
In fact, I am now aware of the following issues:
- The Android app may stop functioning after a while -- workaround: only run the app when you are using it (otherwise your icon should be gray with no shade of red)
- The Mac app seems to only work on Lion. Hopefully the latest version I uploaded fixes this pure SDK limitation.
- The helpers may be very capricious as they are so, so young.
Thank you for your patience and, more importantly, your feedback.
Get it from the Beta Page.
So, as you certainly noticed, ICS-toting devices such as the Galaxy Nexus do not come with the USB Mass Storage feature anymore.
On Windows, you can mount your storage using MTP (Media Storage Protocol)
On Linux and OS X, from what I've seen, there have been some attempts at building drivers for MTP but those seem to provide quite unreliable connectivity.
On Windows itself, it appears that the protocol takes quite a while to mount your device.
Google does not offer USB Mass Storage anymore in part due to the fact that you would need to unmount your whole storage from your phone to mount it on your computer.
The Solution
Alt Mounter! (I know, such an original name)
Alt Mounter is two things: 1) a small service and its widget, running on your device; 2) a helper running on your computer.
When you use Alt Mounter, mounting your storage on your computer is close to instantaneous. It works like a Dual Mount application; i.e. it does not unmount your storage from your device (it does not need to)
Platforms
Currently, the helper only exists for OS X and Windows (updated 05/06). It should not take long to port it to Linux if there is a demand.
The OS X version requires you to install OSXFUSE or any other FUSE package. It does not install these drivers itself because many MAC owners have already installed FUSE one way or another (for instance, OS X running in Parallels will not require any extra installation)
The Windows version will only work on a fairly recent version of Windows and will require you to install your device manufacturer's USB drivers. It is even more rough than the OS X version!
GET IT
Alt Mounter is currently a beta product. I use it without problem daily on my Galaxy Nexus and my CM9 Touchpad but of course your mileage may vary.
In fact, I am now aware of the following issues:
- The Android app may stop functioning after a while -- workaround: only run the app when you are using it (otherwise your icon should be gray with no shade of red)
- The Mac app seems to only work on Lion. Hopefully the latest version I uploaded fixes this pure SDK limitation.
- The helpers may be very capricious as they are so, so young.
Thank you for your patience and, more importantly, your feedback.
Get it from the Beta Page.
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