Why 32gb with carriers in UK?

[anthgav]

I am mulling over getting the M8, HTC state that this phone comes in 16gb or 32gb versions. All the carriers in the UK seem to be selling the 16gb only, and this seems to be the trend with all the latest top end phones. If I get the 16gb version HTC state that about 10gb of it is usable after the operating system. This leaves about 10gb for installing apps and cache etc..

My current phone is the HTC One X which has 32gb of storage but is partitioned to allow only 6.76gb for app storage which I have filled up with...
"apps 1.43gb"
"other 5.06gb"
...an extra 3.59gb of apps on the apps to sd card feature.

If this was on the new M8 then my storage would become limited again.

If I buy a top end phone I don't expect to have restrictions on internal storage like that and it infuriates me that the carriers are not selling the 32gb versions. Its all very well saying buy a micro SD card but you can't install apps on it.

Why are there no 32gb versions available and what are your experiences so far with the M8 storage?

 

[CapThrowback]

You can move apps to SD card on the M8.

 

[anthgav]

Moving apps to SD doesn't move the whole app and my experience with apps to sd generally makes widgets not work or settings don't store correctly in the app, so I try and avoid it if I can.

The main thing I want to know is why the carriers will not sell the 32gb versions.

 

[Rukbat]

No experience with the M8, but it depends on the user. My wife (Note 3 - 32GB) has a little over 21GB free out of an initial 25.9GB. ("It's a phone.") She has a few games, Facebook, etc., on it.

I Safestrapped mine, so I have a couple of gigs available in each ROM after loading them with apps. (The one problem with Safestrap - you have to have the same app installed on each ROM you want to use it on - no common "app" area".) Total free internal space? 1.46GB. But it's my phone, my laptop, my toolset (for both software and hardware troubleshooting), etc. I could easily use 64GB of internal space.

And I know people who are very happy running phones with 2 or 4GB.

You sound more like me. If I were there, looking to buy an M8, I'd ask someone (do you have independent cellphone shops, or do you buy from the carriers?) to see if they could get me a 32GB model. When I had my stores here, there were some lines I could order special and others I could either buy or not. (It's different here, I think - different carriers use totally different models. It's getting better, though. In 2003, if you wanted a Sidekick, you were on TMobile. There was no "AT&T Sidekick". Even unlocking the phone wouldn't help - they used different frequencies.)

It's probably going to be moot in 100 years or so, anyway. At birth you'll have an upgradeable communications computer implanted into you, the right to communicate electronically will be as much as the right to speak is now, and we'll all be compatible. Data speeds will make gigabit Ethernet look slow, so all the apps will run on servers, and the "amount of storage" in a "phone" will be as meaningless as the decoration on the handle of a buttonhook is today.

I'll probably live long enough to see 5G, maybe even 6G, but I'd really love to be around when we're all part of one huge planet-wide data network. Have a question? Then you'd have the answer if it's known to mankind.

 

[anthgav]

You sound more like me. If I were there, looking to buy an M8, I'd ask someone (do you have independent cellphone shops, or do you buy from the carriers?) to see if they could get me a 32GB model.

I buy from the carrier Three Mobile, the thing I like about the carriers is if my phone develops a fault they will fix or replace the phone for the whole 2yrs of my contract, If I buy my phone outright say for example Google Play, I will only get 1yr warranty only. I could probably get the 32gb independantly but I want that 2yr protection.

It's probably going to be moot in 100 years or so, anyway. At birth you'll have an upgradeable communications computer implanted into you, the right to communicate electronically will be as much as the right to speak is now, and we'll all be compatible. Data speeds will make gigabit Ethernet look slow, so all the apps will run on servers, and the "amount of storage" in a "phone" will be as meaningless as the decoration on the handle of a buttonhook is today.

I'll probably live long enough to see 5G, maybe even 6G, but I'd really love to be around when we're all part of one huge planet-wide data network. Have a question? Then you'd have the answer if it's known to mankind.

By the way, I love your insight into the future, sounds like the BORG!

 

[Hadron]

If you buy in the UK you get 2 year warranty regardless of who you buy it from, as long as it's UK stock and not a grey import.

However, Google Play Edition phones have so far been US only, so you won't get one from the Play Store. Also last year the 64GB M7 was never released in the UK - that was HTC, not just the networks. Have to hope the 32GB one at least goes on SIM-free sale here, but right now the UK dealers I've checked (clove, handtec) are not listing it.

 

[blenky]

I suppose it depends how many and how big the apps you have. Some games are huge.

I've moved from a 16GB S3 and I never had a space issue as I saved photo\videos to the SD card. Always plenty of room for apps - and had a lot of apps! I don't play games on my phone so that helps.

I have happily bought an 16 GB M8 from Phones4U and again don't foresee a problem.

 

[Slug]

The main thing I want to know is why the carriers will not sell the 32gb versions.

Probably because the 32GB isn't yet available in UK/Europe. HTC themselves only have the 16GB version for sale.