So I got the 3G cradle last week ($150 from Classic) and was hoping that I'll get access to both iPhone's library and keep my USB drive library accessible. Turns out it doesn't work like that - you only get one at a time.

If the USB drive is plugged in, then inserting the iPhone does not add an iPod to the list of sources, but if the USB drive is unplugged, you get full access to the library in the phone.

I was hoping to get both at the same time since my music is on the USB stick and audiobooks go with me on the iPhone. Unplugging the USB is not a big deal, just takes some training since blindly plugging the drive in a covered USB socket is a PITA.

 

What happens if you plug in the iPhone and then plug in the USB does it not recognize the USB Stick?

 

It appears that the first device in wins.

Sometimes nobody wins (I had to turn the car on/off plug/unplug the iPhone half a dozen times yesterday to make it show up at all) - with the USB stick sitting in the cupholder all this time.

In any case - no big deal, once I'm done with Ayn Rand's audiobooks, I'll have a ton of space on the phone (Fountainhead is about 30 hours / 1.5GB, Atlas Shrugged is about 55 hours / 2.5GB).

Still I wish USB worked like a real USB :P