I'm sure i read somewhere in the forum that I'm not the only one a little bit concerned about the possibility of accidental damage to the usb slot for blue and me, but can't find it!
If someone remebers the link can you please post?

My main concern is having something quite tall like a standard usb stick connected and catching it accidentaly with the possibility of twisting it out of the socket and causing damage to the car - usb sockets aren't really that robust! Even repeatedly attching and removing a usb device may cause problems over time.
I've looked at a few options:
a. Leave a USB extender connected all the time (m-f short lead) so that the connector on the lead gets the wear and tear when using usb memory stick.
b. Leave a retractible ipod lead connected all the time and use my ipod instead of usb or sd with adapter.
c. Leave a mini card reader with short lead attached all the time and use sd, memory stick etc.

Do any of you have any experience or suggestions on what you use other than standard tall usb memory sticks?

Thanks

or get a hinged end usb stick? i would probably use an extension lead tbh but then you are into using ipod territory

If u constantly plug and unplug into the USB it will wear out. Using a extender will also remove the likelyhood of snapping it off and will save wear and tear on the socket.

:yeahthat: I'm going to be using a USB adaptor and interchanging a number of 4GB SD cards into it; the adaptor is very small and the SD cards, of course, even smaller, so very easy to conceal.

Also, has anyone tried to spot the USB slot from outside the car by leaning close to the windows? I would imagine it's hard to see, ensconced as it is between the seats, so leaving a tiny USB adaptor in might not be such a security risk...

Thanks for these

The shortest usb extender I can find would be something like this:
http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=110996

I wanted something 2-3 inches - just long enought to sit in one of the cup holders so it could be connected all the time, but this may work because of the retractibility?:idea:

Alternatively get a 5m one and leave the Ipod in the boot :idea: