[mtlhoser]

Like many here, I was frustrated with the lack of USB host mode (aka OTG). I recently saw a device from Verbatim called the MediaShare Wireless Go Portable. It is basically a WiFi router with an SD slot and a USB port. It is a rechargeable device and comes with a small USB micro/2A cable that you can connect to some charging source. However, the Playbook travel charger can be used to charge it. That's one less cable to carry around.

Of course, there is no S/W for the PlayBook. There is an android app but I didn't want to go the sideloading route. I was also not sure how well it would work in any case. Verbatim's support was non-existent, so I searched for info on similar devices. After a while, I gathered enough info to do something useful.

1) The device must have some storage in it for it's O/S. I just used a regular SD card that I took from my camera.
2) Start the device (charge it first) and wait for the WiFi light to be a solid blue.
3) On the PlayBook connect to the WiFi server on the device. The SSID name is Verbatim-xxxx. The initial SSID as well as the WiFi password can be found at the back of the device.
4) Once you are connected, test the device by opening the Browser to the default gateway that you find in the WiFi Status/Internet Connection info on your PlayBook (ex. http://10.10.10.254). Make sure that Java Script is enabled.
5) Log in. The UserName is admin, and leave the password field blank.
6) In the services section, make sure that the Samba Service is enabled. It should be on by default.
7) If this works, you're halfway there. I set the admin password and rebooted.
8) Download a SAMBA app for your PlayBook. I got Ghost Commander from Blackberry World for free

The rest is valid if you are using Ghost Commander.

9) Start the app
10) At the top of the screen you will see 2 tabs. One is for the local storage (left in my case), and the other is for the remote device (right in my case). With the right tab highlighted, I swipe down from the top bezel and I select the Location tab.
11) Select Home
12) The select Windows Share
13) Enter the following fields
Server: The ipaddress of the mediashare (ex.10.10.10.254)
Username: Admin
Password: whatever you set it to.

The other fields can be left as is.
14) Select OK

15) If all is well, you should see something like "SDCard_xxxx". From there you can browse the media on the SD card, and you can select and copy files to your PlayBook. If you had a USB device, you would see another entry for it. Note, that I was not able to connect a camera directly to the USB port of the device.

I hope that someone finds this info useful.

[pacoman03]

I'm guessing that you mean Ghost Commander, not Ghost World.

[mtlhoser]

I'm guessing that you mean Ghost Commander, not Ghost World.

Correct. Some weird Freudian slip I guess.

[kcorey]

Thanks for this, just picked up the MediaShare device yesterday, the Android app wasn't working but this step-by-step did. Great job.