How to Use iPhone 4 as a Hard Drive

The Apple iPhone is one of the most beautiful examples of technology elevated to the level of art. The multipurpose iPhone 4 is the most coveted possession of any technophile. Not only does it provide great cell phone connectivity, it lets you access high speed Internet, video call friends and family, while also doubling up as your complete entertainment center.

With 16 GB or 32 GB of hard drive space on the phone, it would be great, if you could use it as a portable storage device. Unfortunately, this is not possible, as iTunes do not allow you to use iPhone as a hard drive. However, there are third party applications like 'Phone Disk', which can let you use iPhone as a portable hard drive. In this Techspirited article, I will show you how to use iPhone 4 as a portable hard drive using Phone Disk.

The range of iPhone apps that have been released recently, can help you truly harness the potential of this amazing gizmo. Besides the plenty of utility, entertainment and games apps provided, there are some like Phone Disk, that help you get over the limitations imposed by Apple through iTunes. With these apps, you can directly transfer computer files to the 16 GB or 32 GB flash memory based hard drive. Let us see how to use Phone Disk to enable the facility of disk storage on iPhone.

How to Use iPhone 4 as a Hard Drive Using Phone Disk?

Launched by Macroplant, Phone Disk is an iPhone app designed to manage and transfer files from your Windows or Macintosh PC, to your iPhone. You don't need to jailbreak your iPhone to use this application. It's a paid app, with a price tag of $19.95. You can download and use the trial version for free, for a limited period. It can directly mount iPhone 4 as a hard drive.

This software works with the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. For Phone Disk to work on your Mac, you need iTunes version 8, 9 or later and have Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6 or later versions. If you are using a Windows machine, you will need Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, along with iTunes latest version, for this application to work.

Step 1: Install Phone Disk

Buy the application and install it on your Mac or Windows PC. Once it's installed, you must launch Phone Disk from 'Applications' and register with the appropriate registration code, that is supplied by Macroplant. With the activation complete, using the application is extremely simple.

Step 2: Connect iPhone Using USB cable

To use your iPhone as a hard drive, just connect it with your computer, using the USB cable supplied with it. Once you have connected it, launch Phone Disk by double clicking on it. In the preferences tab of the application, check the box which allows the application to launch at startup. The application will automatically detect the hard drive on your iPhone and open a window showing its contents.

Step 3: Transfer Files to iPhone Hard Drive

You can now drag and drop files from your computer hard drive to the iPhone hard drive for storage. You can also access the image files on your iPhone using the application. You can also copy image files from your computer to the iPhone. This application lets you access multiple Apple devices simultaneously on your computer. So you can use it to access and save data on your iPod and iPad at the same time. To access data on the iPhone hard drive, you will need to have Phone Disk installed on the PC you use.

You may use any one of the above applications to use your iPhone to carry data, like you would in an external hard drive. This extends the utility of your iPhone 4 and you don't need to carry a USB flash drive or any other extra storage device for transporting important data. Try out either one of Phone Disk today and add to the utility value of your iPhone 4.