What Is the memory problem?

[cannon11]

So I see many many threads about people complaining about not being able to store many apps or anything without it running out of memory. I heard that it only has about 200mb of on board storage but it comes with a 4gb sd card that can be upgradeable to 32gb. So if that is the case, What is the problem? Can't you just buy a bigger sd card and use that to store everything? I was considering buying this phone, So i'm just wondering, please fill me in.
Thank you!

 

[odhinn]

You can use the SD card for many of your apps. However, most widgets won't function from an SD card (e.g. Facebook) and have to be in the phone memory to function. Also some apps, e.g. Gmail, only work properly when run from phone memory. So you always have some apps which you can't put on SD card.

The other issue is app size. Most apps add new features with every release which means more memory space required. The last Facebook update was monster, and I finally had to move it to SD card and remove the widget from my desktop. Annoying.

I like my N1. However, there are better phones out there. Main N1 problems - low memory, no front-facing camera, power button failure, and dust behind the screen.

I recommend checking out cyanogenmod and pick a phone from one of the devices supported for the most recent version so you can flash it and remove all the vendor junk. My gf just got a Rezound and it seems like a nice device, but wasn't C9 compatible last I checked.

 

[phlojo]

However, most widgets won't function from an SD card (e.g. Facebook) and have to be in the phone memory to function. Also some apps, e.g. Gmail, only work properly when run from phone memory.

Actually, NO widget can function if installed on the SD card. Besides widgets, apps that use notifications (e.g. SMS, email, etc) and services (some application that runs as a service, such as Yahoo Messenger) are also applications that need to run from internal memory.

I like my N1. However, there are better phones out there. Main N1 problems - low memory, no front-facing camera, power button failure, and dust behind the screen.

Low memory is my only problem with the N1. I've had mine for 2.5 years and it's still running fine but the space issue is really annoying me. (I was looking at an HTC One S but I'm hesitating because it doesn't have an SD card slot.)

 

[SiempreTuna]

The memory problem is a bit of a pain: on my Desire (= N1 clone) running Gingerbread, apps would only update when they were on phone memory. Some became so big, I couldn't switch them back from the SD card to phone memory and run the update.

Obviously, the N1 would be better than the Desire (no HTC bloat) plus it seems you can mitigate the issue by rooting, but I wound up removing lots of apps.

The N1 is a great phone, but it is getting rather long in the tooth. If I were you, I'd look for something with a bit more RAM - maybe one of the later Nexus models.