The Droid only has (MAX) 256 MB User storage.

[Bill]

Hello,

Why is anybody ok with this? I see this a limiting factor in so many ways not just for the Droid but all Android devices.

BTW does anybody have any ideas why this limitation is on the droid and other Android phones? What is causing this limitation?

Bill

 

[King James]

I thought I read that it comes with a 16 GB card already in it

 

[johnlgalt]

The internal Mem is 256 MB, but it also comes with a 16GB SDHC preinstalled - just like the Blackberry Storm2

 

[AdamHC]

But we'll only be able to install apps onto the 256mbs won't we....?
I wish they could set it up so that only a small but necessary file can be stored on the 256mb and then the bulk of the application be stored on the card.

 

[knickerbocker]

Most apps are 20K to 500K, so that is still a lot of apps. App files such as documents, etc can be stored on memory card.

 

[dansherpa]

Do we have confirmation that this is true? My understanding is that it has 256Mb RAM and 512Mb ROM in addition to the 16Gb/32b external storage. I've read other posts where people say that the apps are stored in ROM, but half of that ROM is used by the O/S - which would concur with this thread - but I haven't seen anything released by Moto or Verizon to confirm or deny this.

I've also seen other posts indicating that some games can use upwards of 100Mb of storage. If that's true and this thread holds true then this is a pretty serious limitation, isn't it?

 

[LxMeister]

I believe the person who said 100MB was talking about an iPhone game. Not sure that Android games exist that big yet.

 

[Kamilli0n]

256 is adequate app storage space. I'm real surprised that so many people are complaining about it. you'll be able to fit like 200 or so apps with 256 MB. Who needs more than 200 apps on a cell phone lol. Games are another question though

 

[angusn]

I believe the person who said 100MB was talking about an iPhone game. Not sure that Android games exist that big yet.

I assume that iPhone apps are like Mac Apps in that their data is all inside the app itself. They use a directory structure called a "package" that is a directory that contains the program as well as any supporting data and configuration files.

While I agree that it would be nice to see more internal storage, I doubt that we NEED more. These are, after all, phones. I've had my iPod touch (don't kill me) for almost 3 years. There are 3 2nd party apps that I use on a regular basis, and less than 10 that I'd consider necessary to carry around with me. Room for over 100 apps should be plenty, even if I develop a pack-rat mentality.

Some of the apps I plan on writing will require some data storage space. I'll make sure that they are configurable as internal/expansion card friendly, and make them download the data AFTER the app has been installed so that it will only take up space where you want it to. I'm sure there are plenty of devleopers who have thought about this issue.

 

[CRPercodani]

The reason apps only install to the internal mem is so you can't pop out your card and give away paid apps. That is Google's explanation for it anyway, now some are saying that with Android 2.0 you can choose to install apps to the sd card but that has yet to be confirmed. Also once someone gets root access on the Droid you can use the Apps2SD script and you will be all set.

 

[kingohearts2005]

Just be content until someone gets root access. This Android we are talking about here. Anything is possible. Eventually, you will be able to install the apps to the Sd Card whether it be thru a third party app or not..

 

[Russellmaniakw]

i would love it if people would take 10 minutes to use google or wikipedia to learn the difference between rom, ram and flash memory.

 

[MarvinAndroid]

I agree that it is a limitation but I think it is also being blown out of proportion a bit lately. The phone comes with a 16Gb card so any files of any size can be placed on the card memory. One example of this would be the Doom and Quake demos released. Those games will put the actual game engine on the phone, but the first time you start up the application it downloads the data files to the card. The actual code required to run these games can be very small.. it is the data which takes up all the space (images, videos, game levels etc) and that stuff can be put on the 16Gb card (which is pretty large for a mobile device). Another example is the New York City Subway map application I downloaded. That app downloads the entire very detailed subway map to the SD card when you first boot it up. This is a big file... but it fits nicely on the SD card (and the actual application itself is only 64K!). I only have 2Gb card in my G1 but I still haven't filled it up. 16Gb is a lot of space.

So I guess what I'm saying is... clever developers can find a way around this problem. I have about 40 third party apps on my G1 right now... you might be surprised how much you can fit in there.

 

[iPhoneMilk]

guys i don't even own and android and i know the answer to this.

I've been searching around and apparently there's an APP on the android market that manages your other apps, and lets you Install and even backup all of your Apps on to the SD memory card.

 

[CatsTide]

verizon spec sheet shows 512mb on board memory

 

[AdamHC]

256 is adequate app storage space. I'm real surprised that so many people are complaining about it. you'll be able to fit like 200 or so apps with 256 MB. Who needs more than 200 apps on a cell phone lol. Games are another question though

But that's now, with all the new phones running Android that are coming out there are gonna be more apps cause theres a bigger target market and they're gonna use more space because the coders will put more effort into them cause they can make more money from them. What about when eventually it becomes like the iPhone and has games which can be quite large. One game will take up half of the space there is for apps.

Yea it's actually 512mb. 256mb is RAM, from what i know apps will be stored on the ROM which is 512mb.

 

[johnlgalt]

RAM - Random-access memory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ROM - Read-only memory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now, think about it - if it is Read only I don't think you're gonna write to it - unless you've got a very good method of flashing and have direct access to that ROM somehow.

In fact, let me go out on a limb and say this - being 38 and having used computers for a long time, I have never once been able to easily write to ROM - for example, go out and buy your favorite music album on CD-ROM - and then try to write new tracks to it.

Yeah.

Unless you're referring to the OS and the apps that come with the phone - those will be on the ROM....

 

[spottyelephant]

RAM - Random-access memory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ROM - Read-only memory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now, think about it - if it is Read only I don't think you're gonna write to it - unless you've got a very good method of flashing and have direct access to that ROM somehow.

In fact, let me go out on a limb and say this - being 38 and having used computers for a long time, I have never once been able to easily write to ROM - for example, go out and buy your favorite music album on CD-ROM - and then try to write new tracks to it.

Yeah.

Unless you're referring to the OS and the apps that come with the phone - those will be on the ROM....

I was reading down this wondering if everyone here was technilogically challenged!

 

[CatsTide]

I was reading down this wondering if everyone here was technilogically challenged!

yes we are...thanks!

 

[Russellmaniakw]

RAM - Random-access memory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ROM - Read-only memory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now, think about it - if it is Read only I don't think you're gonna write to it - unless you've got a very good method of flashing and have direct access to that ROM somehow.

In fact, let me go out on a limb and say this - being 38 and having used computers for a long time, I have never once been able to easily write to ROM - for example, go out and buy your favorite music album on CD-ROM - and then try to write new tracks to it.

Yeah.

Unless you're referring to the OS and the apps that come with the phone - those will be on the ROM....

This is incorrect. I suggest that everyone here who is unsure about how much space the Droid has for app storage read this thread from the Hero board:
http://androidforums.com/sprint-htc-hero/13022-ram-rom-what.html

 

[MarvinAndroid]

Thanks for the link! That explains it well.

to johnlgalt... I see where you are coming from and I agree with your logic... I was confused about this stuff for the same reason. I come from and old-school computer background where ROM generally means static memory that you are not going to mess with except on a rare occassion (like flashing a new BIOS or something). But in the case of Android phones... ROM has been used to describe flash memory where the OS takes up one portion and the rest is available for user-installed applications. It is a bit misleading though and post linked above explains it well.

I wish they would just call it flash memory or NVRAM (as it's called in Cisco routers) because Read Only Memory doesn't sound like a place were user applications are installed. It doesn't sound right.

 

[AdamHC]

I was reading down this wondering if everyone here was technilogically challenged!

Maybe it's you guys who are technically challenged.

As stupid and impractical as it sounds, apps are infact stored on the ROM, but there is some kind of app that hacks the phone or something to make it install to the SD but I think the phone has to be 'rooted'.

 

[Stangs55]

So....can anyone confirm that this is still a limitation with Android 2.0?

This happens to be an enormous issue for me because I rely on medical apps like Epocrates...the Essentials version can run several hundred megabytes. I know that Epocrates has said they'll have Android support by year's end...but if this is actually still a limitation, then the program will likely be crippled.

 

[johnlgalt]

Thanks for the knock upside my head. I suppose being old school has its limitations....

OK, so ROM is being used to refer to non-volatile memory, and RAM is exactly the opposite - volatile. So, OS and Apps go to the ROM, which is partitioned separating the OS and Apps.

Got it.

Now, please send me the names of all the friggin design idiots that made this change in semantics so I can slowly torture them one by one until everything is changed to reflect not what is colloquially acceptable yet technically incorrect but rather the technically correct definitions of our terms so we can all stop getting confrused (sp on purpose) and move on with our lives....

@Stangs - see this: http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/12954-confermation-apps-phone-memory-only.html

 

[billd]

TOK, so ROM is being used to refer to non-volatile memory, and RAM is exactly the opposite - volatile. So, OS and Apps go to the ROM, which is partitioned separating the OS and Apps.

Now, please send me the names of all the friggin design idiots that made this change in semantics so I can slowly torture them one by one until everything is changed to reflect not what is colloquially acceptable yet technically incorrect but rather the technically correct definitions of our terms so we can all stop getting confrused (sp on purpose) and move on with our lives....

Want some help?

Whoever decided that "ROM" is an appropriate name for the dynamically updateable flash memory where apps are stored, is an idiot. It should be called internal storage, internal flash, onboard flash, or even nvram, but not ROM. Something called ROM should not writeable at all by normal user processes.