Meem Is a Charging Cable That Backs up Your Smartphone
Lose your phone, no problem. At least your kids' pictures will be safe.
Not everybody wants their personal data ⏤ much less pictures of their kids ⏤ hanging out in the cloud. But remembering to sync a smartphone to a laptop every day … well, that’s not happening either. And therein lies the rub. As well as the reason a British company designed this third, ingenious option: A cable that automatically saves your data every time you charge the phone.
At first glance, Meem looks like a charging cable swallowed a jumpdrive. And in this case, looks are not deceiving —there’s 16GB/32GB of encrypted storage integrated into the cord. To set it up, simply plug the phone in and allow it to automatically download the Meem App. From there, create the 4-digit security pin and manually backup the contents of the phone or tablet for the first time: contacts, calendar, photos, videos, and messages. Depending on how many hilarious videos of your kids eating sand you took, the transfer could take a few hours; it moves data at a rate of one gig every six minutes. After the initial backup, simply set and forget the auto function and let Meem do its thing.
There are a few things worth noting: Meem is available for iOS (32GB, Lightning connector) and Android (16GB, Micro USB), but it doesn’t backup texts on the iPhone. When transferring manually, the app only allows users to select categories of files (contacts, messages, etc.), no individual files. For those still concerned with privacy, third parties cannot access any of the data, short of stealing the cable and cracking the code. And speaking of theft (or forgetful memories), 10 tries at the password and it’s locked for life.
At $50-$70, Meem’s obviously not cheap for a phone charger. Think of it as a hard drive too and it makes more sense. Not only that, it can backup/restore multiple devices in the house (space permitting). There’s also, of course, the peace of mind it affords knowing that all those funny kid videos and pics are perfectly safe when your phone eventually falls in a lake on vacation.
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