What Is USB OTG? 8 Amazing Functions Of OTG On Android And Tablets

OTG is the abbreviation for ON THE GO, is a standard specified USB cable for connecting two or more devices to interact or communicate with one another. USB OTG Cable is an important tool to creates a link between your mobile phone and other computer peripherals such as USB flash drive, Mouse, Keyboard, Digital Camera, Game Pad, Card Reader, External Hard Disk Drive and so on!

OTG Cable can do some really clever things and many people have never heard of it. If you don't know your OTG from your OMG, let's discover what it is and why it's so great.

• Share Battery Charge Between Two Android Devices:-

For sharing the battery charge, all you need is a regular data/charger cable that you use to connect your smartphone to your PC and a standard USB OTG Host cable.
When you have everything ready, connect the USB data cable to one of the phones. Connect the USB OTG host cable to the other phone. And finally attach the two cables together. You will notice that the phone with smaller charge level has started to charge. The charging will continue until the batteries of both the phones has almost the same level of charge. After that make sure you disconnect it.

• Super-Fast Files Transfer Between Two Device:-

When it comes to Android files transfer, lots will choose the commonly used way, Bluetooth, FlashShare, Any Send, USB cable and so on. USB OTG, empowers USB devices like Android phones to act as a host and then allows other USB device to be attached to them. You can make direct connection between two Android Phones/Tablets and transfer files between Android via USB OTG. By using USB OTG, Android phones plugged-in can communicate with each other without the need to be connected to a computer.

When it's come to transferring heavy files like game data (obb) and HD movies, using an OTG cable is the best way to get it done very fast.

• Connection of 3G Modem with Android Devices:-

People who have WiFi only tablets or without 3G support might find the need to use 3G Modem with their device to get something downloaded quickly when the broadband is too slow or down. This can be done using an Android app called PPP Widget. As the name suggests, it is a widget, not an app. It is available in the Play Store for free.

• Using an External GamePad:-

Yeah!!! I mean it, you can do it very easy. Because playing games on a touchscreen is not the same as holding a real Gamepad or a portable console like PSP. Many game developers have finally realized that in order for their games to be successful, they have to support Android. To really win Android users over, they should also accommodate us hardcore gamers who have OTG cables with the ability to hook up controllers to our devices.
Games like  Dead Trigger and Asphalt already support GamePads, but many others are still touch only. Some will only work well with touchscreen input, like Blek, but action games like Eternal Warrior 2 , Modern Combat 4 and Shadow Gun can definitely benefit from an external GamePad, If you have a tablet, you can try connecting your Gamepad with your device using your OTG cable.

• Connect USB Flash Drive to Your Android Device:-

Flash drives spent a good amount of time as the number one way to take your files with you wherever you needed to go. As some of that has changed with Android devices and cloud storage, many of us still have those USB flash drives kicking around looking for a good use. USB Flash drive is not meant for your computer alone, you can use it with your Android device as long as you have your OTG cable with you. It’s plug and play with no settings needed. Think about the possibilities: watching movies from your flash drive, moving files around, reading documents stored on USB Flash e.t.c.

• Connection of a Mouse to Your Android Device:-

When a USB mouse is connected to your Android Device using a USB OTG cable, a mouse pointer appears on the screen. Click to select and open items on the screen. 
The following applies when using a USB mouse on your Android Device:

• The touch screen continues to function when a mouse is connected.
• Right-clicking performs the same action as left-clicking.
• To scroll up, down, left or right in a menu, use the mouse scroll wheel, or click and drag the screen in the direction you want to scroll.
• To change the mouse pointer speed, go to the Settings menu, touch Language & input, and then touch Pointer speed. Move the slider left or right to achieve your desired pointer speed.

• Connection of a USB Keyboard to Your Android Device:-

When a USB keyboard is connected to your Android Device using a USB OTG cable, touch inside a text input area to begin using the keyboard.
The following applies when using a USB keyboard on your Android Device:

• The on-screen keyboard is hidden when a physical keyboard is connected.
• Some of the key combinations that perform actions on Windows computers also work on a tablet, in most apps. For example, you can Cut (Ctrl + X), Copy (Ctrl + C), and Paste (Ctrl + V) using your keyboard.
• To find settings options for the physical keyboard, go to the Settings menu, touch Language & input, and look in the Physical keyboard section.

• Print Directly From A Printer:-

Much like keyboards, printers with a standard plug-and-play USB work darn well with Android devices, so you can start printing without requiring a wireless connection and without transferring anything to a PC first. Weirdly, the “Mass Storage” mode didn’t work for me, but your mileage may vary. If you want to print photos and documents, you will have to switch to PTP (Photo to Photo) mode in your USB connection.

USB OTG (On-The-Go) supported devices for now are Sony, Xperia Z, ZL, Z Ultra, Z1 - Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, S4, Note 1,  Note 2, Note 3 - Tecno F7/H7/R7/Phantom A+/Tablets - Motorola: Moto G Phone | Xoom Tablet - LG Optimus G, G2, G3 G Pad 8.3 7.0 8.0 10.1 – HTC X, One, One mini, One max, M7, M8 - Nokia Lumia 2520 Tablet | Nokia 603 | Asha 300 | C6-01 | C7 E6 E7 | N8 - Google Nexus 5 / 6 / 7 / 9 / 10, all Q Mobiles etc

It can be as cheap as $3 and if you’re in Nigeria, you can get it for as low as N600 on Jumia and Konga