The Return of the Micro SD slot?

[dontpanicbobby]

Samsung never gave them up. HTC has one on the new M8. Oppo has one on the Oppo 7a and now Motorola is including one on the Moto G 4G LTE. I hope Goggle gets their stuff together and notices this trend. People want external storage and they will vote for it with their wallets.

 

[funkylogik]

I think every phone should have one. Not to run apps from but for media ect.
My Nexus tab feels kinda crippled without one.
I think you're right that the public want them. Google really don't though and they could wipe them out if they wanted to

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Yeah I suppose they could refuse to license the Android OS to any new devices with an SD slot then release a new Android OS update that doesn't support SD at all but that would be evil, And we all know Google's motto is "Don't be evil". Anywho, I think rooting and substituting a custom ROM with the SD card code in it would keep any pre-evil empire Google legacy devices which had an SD card on them running. I'd hate to imperil my warranty coverage but in that extreme case I guess I would have to. It would suck not to be able to see what the new processors could do though if I couldn't find a new phone with an SD slot.

 

[funkylogik]

What do you rely on it for? If I had 64gb internal I wouldn't need one tbh :thumbup:

 

[John Bean]

It's an odd thing really; my first Android phone (a Motorola Milestone) had an internal SD card slot, accessible only with the back removed. It was clearly there only as a supplement for the dismally small memory size and Motorola clearly didn't intend it to be used as a day to day removable device.

I'm comfortable with the way things are now to be honest but I can easily see why many people prefer a real, physical SD slot. It would be nice to have one but it isn't high on my priority list and certainly doesn't trump the other advantages of the Nexus range in my future buying choices. Much more useful to me would be fully-powered native OTG support which nether my Nexus 4 or 7 have.

 

[mikedt]

Sure there is more demand for phones with SD than without. The Oppo Find 7/7a has SD and their previous flagship the Find 5 did not. However the OnePlus One doesn't, and that's very closely related to the Find 7/7a. Most Chinese phones have SD, even real cheapo ones, although Google has no real say about what goes on here with Android devices. Also cloud storage for media is not really viable as we don't have unlimited wireless data here.

 

[iowabowtech]

LG G3 is rumored to have external storage too whereas the G2 did not (excluding Korean version). I think you're right about the trend moving back in that direction.

 

[funkylogik]

What I think is cool about removable storage is its like the black box on a plane lol.
The phone can be smashed to bits or drowned and you can still recover your data :beer:

 

[iowabowtech]

It can be handy for root uses too. Bootloop...add rom to card, flash from recovery. Saves the need for adb push/sideload.

 

[boyo1991]

Just wait for phoneblocks/project ara lol.

Nah that was a joke, in case you didn't know.. SD card slot exspansion is crutial and plays a vital role. Cloud is cool, but privacy is IN these days to consumers.

I like SD card slots because I am an app maniac. Not to mention all the bloatware included with stock non rooted systems. Sure not all data will be stored on the SD card but with 258mb on SD and 32mb on storage (if that) you can certainly prolong its consumption

 

[funkylogik]

It can be handy for root uses too. Bootloop...add rom to card, flash from recovery. Saves the need for adb push/sideload.

Good point. Can custom recoveries flash from OTG mate?

 

[iowabowtech]

Good point. Can custom recoveries flash from OTG mate?

I believe that is possible though I have never attempted it in lieu of adb push. I am no expert on OTG as I've never used it to be honest.

 

[funkylogik]

Same here but I'm gona get one for my Nexus 7
Hopefully I can use it to keep nandroid and titanium backups

 

[John Bean]

Your N7 has native OTG support? Mine certainly doesn't.

 

[funkylogik]

Your N7 has native OTG support? Mine certainly doesn't.

Hmm I'm pretty sure I've chatted to people who do. You on a custom rom John?
Is there any way I could check without having the cable?
Just noticed your first post btw mate sorry I missed it

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I use my SD card for Media Storage mostly. Right now I have 8264 songs in 1596 folders taking up 41.14 GB of space according to ES File explorer. 142 "Lights Out" Old Time Radio shows in another folder taking up 789.91 MB and when I do bring movies with me they are capped at 700 Mb by the FairUse Wizard Free software I use to rip them so I could theoretically bring about 7 or 8 movies with me for a long trip with the 15.22 GB remaining on m 64 GB SD card. I plan to add lots more music and Old Time Radio shows though. So I'm in the market for a 128 GB card when the prices come down.

 

[funkylogik]

So you don't really need removable storage then Bobby as long as there's plenty internal?

 

[John Bean]

Hmm I'm pretty sure I've chatted to people who do. You on a custom rom John?
Is there any way I could check without having the cable?
Just noticed your first post btw mate sorry I missed it

No, stock ROM. Of course I can use OTG via apps, but native support is needed if you want to be able to use it for (say) flashing from recovery. I know the stock kernel has no OTG support and there are custom kernels that have but I have no idea whether this would make OTG available for recovery.

I don't know any way to test either, sorry.

 

[funkylogik]

Cool cheers I'm using Franco Kernel so I don't know if that supports it but doesn't recovery have it's own kernel anyway? So I'd have to find out if twrp or CWM support it

 

[Hadron]

Good point. Can custom recoveries flash from OTG mate?

If you've got native OTG support, sure. I do all my ROM flashes and nandroids to a USB key using OTG.

Let's also add Sony to Bobby's list. They were the first of the SD removers to bring it back, so long ago now that people probably forget that they removed it in the first place (removed in the Xperia S, returned in the Xperia T).

 

[funkylogik]

Cheers Hadron and sorry Bobby for hijacking your thread mate.
I've asked about the otg thing in the n7 g+ community and asked Francisco Franco about Franco Kernel :thumbup:

 

[dontpanicbobby]

No problem funkylogick. I guess I could get by with a 64 GB device right now but I'm thinking about the future. I've got lot's of DVDs to convert yet and having them available all the time on my phone is what I'm really looking for.

That Samsung 1.5 TB charger/portable wireless hard drive looks like a possible option should Google really turn off external storage cards but adding that to my gadget bag wouldn't leave any room for lunch.

 

[CafeKampuchia]

I use my SD card for Media Storage mostly.

^^^ This, and my countless nandroid backups at >1GB a pop.

 

[funkylogik]

^^^ This, and my countless nandroid backups at >1GB a pop.

1gb? Try 3gb lol!!

So I'm hearing that Yeah twrp recovery can use otg @John Bean haven't found out about Franco yet

 

[funkylogik]

Actually 3gb was an under estimate lol
This is on my phone which thankfully does have an SD