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Play's device app storage only 400mb?! Even worse- 380mb

rushmore

Extreme Android User
Nov 13, 2008
8,256
1,355
Kentucky
A few previews I have seen mention the Euro version has a 1gb "rom", of which 380mb (not 400) is available to the user for apps.

This will be a HUGE weakness for this device, especially since the folks that would buy this are gamers. Apps2sd will only help so much since apps still install some of the app to the internal storage.

Surely Sony did not get stupid and only provide 400mb of device storage.

Mega fail if true and not much better than the Archos tablets who got pure stupid with 230mb of space.

Confirmed- Sony got stupid. Like the TB, it has no internal media space, but at least the TB, in spite of bloatware has 2.4gb of device storage. The Play has a crazy low 400mb and to make matters worse, other reviews are alos mentioning the dispaly is not very bright.

From the Slashgear review:

Under the hood it’s a pretty standard Android phone, with a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, Adreno 205 graphics, 512MB of RAM, 400MB of internal storage and a bundled 8GB microSD card.

Update: This is an error. It has only 380mb for apps storage- Crazy stupid.

Unless Sony is assuming folks will ony install their Playstation games, this is a huge design mistake, since gamers will soon run out of space with 400mb.
 
I agree with yoyohere - if this device was shipping with 2.2 and didn't have the native apps to SD feature, then it would be a problem. From what little I know of these things, I'm guessing they are using a concept similar to "hard links", so apps won't know or care if they are stored on the internal storage or the SD. There shouldn't be any compatibility issues, and only a negligible speed difference.
 
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Apps2sd only puts part of an app on sd. An average of 30% stays in device storage and you also need to put psx roms, media and mp3 media in that space. Not to mention hotswapping sd cards is not practical when using apps2sd.

Folks will learn the hard way. 380 megs on any Android device now, yet alone a gaming device is stupid.
 
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Simple answer - don't buy it. Wait for the next PS certified device if need be. But you have gone on about this in numerous threads, as well as starting this one.

Partly due to incredulity how Sony would not change this when they updated to the 8655 chipest. This device was supposed to release over a year ago, but was delayed due to the infamous PSP Go. Back then when the app market was smaller and less apps hogging device an phone data space, 380mb was not that bad.

Having the lowest space of any device in the past year, but having the only gamepad is a very bitter irony.
 
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Haven't seen any one post anything about the the xplay battery..any one know what kind of time you can get off it ? whats the point having a damn psp phone if the battery don't last ...

Battery life is meant to be reasonable. I should finally be getting my hands on it this week and I'll give my opinion on all of it once I've had a couple of days to play with it.
 
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Well I've had mine for a day or so and so far the batterys held up pretty well. After a fully charging it in the day, I took it to work last night the night and probably did an hour or so of gaming (the bigger games it comes with, not standard Android games), lots of internet (FaceBook, Market etc.) texting and a few phone calls.

I didn't put it on charge when I got home and I even though haven't really used it much today, (a few texts and calls and a bit of Crash Bandicoot) the battery was still above 50% before I charged it. I've still yet to really stretch the battery to it's limits but from what I've seen so far I'd say it's at least on the same level as my old HTC Hero, and one charge a day was all that ever needed.
 
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the app storrage he is complaining about is all on the SD. so there is no problem at all. Jester please write a review for us all.

How is having 380mb of app space not a problem? If you plan on being thrifty with app installs, you will be fine. If you plan on using apps2sd, that will buy you some time, but not practical to hot swap SD cards.

App junkies that expect to place current apps accumulated on the Play, will need to decide what they want to install.
 
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Prior to 2.2, you would have needed the third-party apps2sd app to push apps to external storage. However, since Google built that feature into 2.2, that app is now obsolete.

Here are some reasons why 380mb should not be an issue:
1. Rushmore mentions that people are going to store media and MP3's on their internal storage. Why?? All of my photos/videos/music are stored on my 16gb SD card, since I have no reason to keep them in my valuable internal storage area.
2. Hot swapping SD cards is not a typical user practice, otherwise they would still design SD cards that are accessible from outside of the case. In fact, I can think of a few phones which require taking out the battery to get to the SD! Even if it doesn't, I would MUCH rather buy a bigger SD card than go through the hassle of taking off my case and then taking off the back panel every time I wanted to access files on a different SD.
3. My own current phone, for example. I have a Samsung Fascinate which has ~2gb internal storage. After 6 months and many dozens of games and apps, I'm using a grand total of 533mb. I haven't bothered moving apps to my SD since I have plenty of space, but I could easily move enough things off to put me well below that 380mb threshold - moving Need For Speed: Shift would save me 100mb by itself.
4. I don't know where that "30% stays on the internal storage" figure comes from, Rushmore, so let me provide a real-world example. Lets Golf from Gameloft - it takes up less than 5mb on internal storage, but 161mb on my SD card! I'm sure there are bad developers out there who might not be so thrifty with their internal-vs-SD data ratio, but I'm also sure the market would force them to correct that before long...

That being said, would I want a bigger internal storage area? Of course - I would enjoy having 32gb main storage like the iPhone has - but I doubt I would enjoy the higher price tag that would come along with it. Apple can get away with it because they know they will sell millions - no questions asked - so they can get a better price for components. Sony's target market is significantly smaller, so they can't get away with that.

In the end, Rushmore, I understand that because of how you might choose to utilize your phone, 380mb is not enough - and that's fine, but I don't think it is the death knell of this product. I don't see this as being an issue at all for me or - in my opinion - most users, so I'm still eagerly awaiting its arrival (hopefully on the 14th in the US?)...
 
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dewalist, i will be awaiting it's arrival right along with ya :)

I am just ready for this device. Personally the amount of memory doesn't really bother me. I still use my ipod as my main music device because it is the only device that can hook up to my car and play the music. So the SD card will be perfect for apps and pics.

I dont think it is going to be a huge deal about the memory but having owned a mytouch 4g with 768 MB of ram, i am a bit disappointed but still excited for it nonetheless
 
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1. Referring to actual app spec on the device. It only has 380mb. Even using apps2sd, this is not much space and is 50% of the one year old Inc and seven times less than the TB. This will not be a device for app fans to buy.

2. Was not referring to putting media in internal space. No internal media space is odd for a newer device (TB has none either), but if you are loading up PS1 games, media and app data from Android apps on the card, you will run out quickly with a 16gb.

3. In regards to item "2", the logical option would be swapping cards, but this will be an issue since you are using apps2sd for Android apps (they will not work).

The first thing most folks will do after buying this device will be to get a 32gb card. This is the exact same device that should have released a year ago and all they did was update the chipset. If they simply added an 8gb flash, they could have dedicated the rom to the firmware and then allocated some of the flash rom for app storage (like the Incredible or TB- catch is HTC screwed the TBs space up).

The big issue now will be if Sony cuts the control pad out for any "non optimized" app. I can see them doing this, since Sony wants you buying their stuff and not playing emulators or any apps not "optimized".

added: I can see the later life aftermarket for this device being BIG, since a hacked version of the Play will be a nice device for emulator fans. You KNOW Sony is thinking of the control pad function, just for their supported apps.
 
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I don't think there is any risk of Sony cutting out the use of the gamepad for 'non-xperia play' apps.

The reason I think this is that they've already publicly touted the gamepad's secondary function as additional hardware keys that can be used to navigate menus etc. Also, all the emulators worth having allow you to assign hardware keys for game control.

Well, I'm getting mine delivered tomorrow and I can't wait. Snesoid along with Zelda 3 and Super Mario World are going to be the first thing I put on it!
 
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I don't think there is any risk of Sony cutting out the use of the gamepad for 'non-xperia play' apps.

The reason I think this is that they've already publicly touted the gamepad's secondary function as additional hardware keys that can be used to navigate menus etc. Also, all the emulators worth having allow you to assign hardware keys for game control.

Well, I'm getting mine delivered tomorrow and I can't wait. Snesoid along with Zelda 3 and Super Mario World are going to be the first thing I put on it!

I assumed that too, but they are touting the Sony Experience and pushing for optimized apps. Nice if Sony forgets the other apps and does not try to keep other apps out.

I would not be surprised to see a dual core Snap Dragon version of the Play, this Fall that also plays PSP games.
 
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I assumed that too, but they are touting the Sony Experience and pushing for optimized apps. Nice if Sony forgets the other apps and does not try to keep other apps out.

I would not be surprised to see a dual core Snap Dragon version of the Play, this Fall that also plays PSP games.

So far, the pad has worked fine. I've used it in Opera Mini for navigation, no issues.

The only exception is that as far as I can tell, the touchpads can't be assigned to anything in non-play apps (I couldn't assign them in N64oid for example), but I'm guessing there's a techincal reason for that with them not being physical buttons.
 
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Ok, here's the score on this memory issue from a new Play owner.
I'll just give you the fugures. You can do the maths.
Yesterday I came from a rooted GSM Hero, 8gb stick with a 250mb partition (700mb left on the stick). All the apps I wanted and plenty space for more (let's face it, I could've formatted the stick with a bigger partition anytime).

Today, I am typing this on my Play and the status is this:
All of the media transferred over to my new 16gb card that came boxed with the play.
90% of the apps I had on the Hero reinstalled to the play (- some junk !)
Anything internal that could be moved physically, via app storage, has been moved to SD.

6 games installed NOT Play optimized (Angry birds etc).
9 games installed PLAY OPTIMIZED.
1 PSX game.

SD card: 8.6gb used - 6.2gb free.
Internal storage: 256mb used - 124mb free.

Does this device have enough storage for my gaming needs the remainder of my 18month contract ?

It doesn't take a mathematician to say...

HELL NO !
 
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Ok, here's the score on this memory issue from a new Play owner.
I'll just give you the fugures. You can do the maths.
Yesterday I came from a rooted GSM Hero, 8gb stick with a 250mb partition (700mb left on the stick). All the apps I wanted and plenty space for more (let's face it, I could've formatted the stick with a bigger partition anytime).

Today, I am typing this on my Play and the status is this:
All of the media transferred over to my new 16gb card that came boxed with the play.
90% of the apps I had on the Hero reinstalled to the play (- some junk !)
Anything internal that could be moved physically, via app storage, has been moved to SD.

6 games installed NOT Play optimized (Angry birds etc).
9 games installed PLAY OPTIMIZED.
1 PSX game.

SD card: 8.6gb used - 6.2gb free.
Internal storage: 256mb used - 124mb free.

Does this device have enough storage for my gaming needs the remainder of my 18month contract ?

It doesn't take a mathematician to say...

HELL NO !

My basic point. App fans should probably avoid this device, due to Sony not providing more device storage. This device is almost two years old in the storage design. Major miss by Sony.

Most people that miss the storage
issue and like apps will end up selling the Play or app juggling.
 
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Best case scenario here would be root.
I ran out of space with my stock Hero after 2 days.
Rooting & partitioning made me enjoy the device 100% more.

Ok, this is SONY. And recent legal disputes have probably put many developers off looking into a root for the Play.

But it's early days yet.

The storage is a joke, and this is coming, although I hate the phrase, from a Sony fanboy. Hence why I hold an Xperia Play in my hand.

Root the XPlay someone. Pretty please !
 
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