"Storage Anxiety" and nexus devices

[noblemo]

Does anyone have experience using mobile Wi-Fi storage with a Nexus device?

 

[WelshBloke]

Take off your tin foil hats people...This has little to do with mining data, or forcing people into the cloud.
The reason that there's no microSD slot on recent Nexus devices is because Google doesn't want to have to pay for Microsoft's FAT patents.

Don't they have to pay that anyway? The nexus can read usb sticks formated with FAT. What's the difference between reading an sdcard or a usb stick?

 

[Dari]

That's one thing I really have to give Samsung some credit for. They seem to have embraced the SD card slot and bring their high end devices to market with it available.

Samsung isn't doing it for you. They're doing it for themselves.
1) They are a hardware company and do not have the same software presence as Apple, Google, Sony or any other company that sells services.

2) They are heavily into NAND so it makes sense for them to have SD support on their phones in order to sell more flash memory.

 

[WelshBloke]

Samsung isn't doing it for you. They're doing it for themselves.
1) They are a hardware company and do not have the same software presence as Apple, Google, Sony or any other company that sells services.

2) They are heavily into NAND so it makes sense for them to have SD support on their phones in order to sell more flash memory.

1) Sony has a software presence in the smartphone area?

2) They could pack large amounts of storage in their devices and charge much, much more than they could for a microSD card.

I'd say that they are doing it for themselves and the customer. It fulfills customer demand and gives them increased business.

 

[SandEagle]

i bought the htc one s with 16gb internal, no microSD. i thought i would be ok, but now i see that i should have bought a phone with expandable storage. i regret buying this phone.

 

[Dari]

1) Sony has a software presence in the smartphone area?

2) They could pack large amounts of storage in their devices and charge much, much more than they could for a microSD card.

I'd say that they are doing it for themselves and the customer. It fulfills customer demand and gives them increased business.

1) Yes, Sony has a software presence...and it's growing. They have their music and PSM service.

2) That does not make sense considering it costs them less to put it in their phones compared to other manufacturers. They could but nobody would buy it because the price isn't competitive. However, if they give their customers the freedom to buy the SD cards, it will help their 50% presence in the NAND field. Also, let's not forget that Samsung charges like $50 now for an extra 16GB, not the usual $100.

 

[WelshBloke]

1) Yes, Sony has a software presence...and it's growing. They have their music and PSM service.

2) That does not make sense considering it costs them less to put it in their phones compared to other manufacturers. They could but nobody would buy it because the price isn't competitive. However, if they give their customers the freedom to buy the SD cards, it will help their 50% presence in the NAND field. Also, let's not forget that Samsung charges like $50 now for an extra 16GB, not the usual $100.

So number 2 is for the benefit of Samsung and the customer then? Thats what I was saying.

About #1, I was a bit skeptical about you mentioning Sony in the same sentence as Apple and Google when talking about phone software. I still am.

 

[poofyhairguy]

What's the difference between reading an sdcard or a usb stick?

A USB stick takes up the MHL port, meaning no HDMI out while using that data.

On older phones or tablets with a separate Micro HDMI slot this option is fine, but on a Nexus with only one port it is inadequate.

 

[darkewaffle]

I think if your phone gives you any kind of anxiety, you've got much bigger problems than your phone.

 

[Dari]

So number 2 is for the benefit of Samsung and the customer then? Thats what I was saying.

About #1, I was a bit skeptical about you mentioning Sony in the same sentence as Apple and Google when talking about phone software. I still am.

As has been mentioned here, the demand is from a very vocal minority. iPhones seem to be doing fine without SD support. Fact is, Samsung is happy to put it there because it helps their bottomline. End of story.

As for Sony, they are a content creation company. A lot of the content that Apple and Google sell comes from Sony so I don't know why you are so skeptical. They may not make many "apps" but they are heavily into media...

 

[WelshBloke]

A USB stick takes up the MHL port, meaning no HDMI out while using that data.

On older phones or tablets with a separate Micro HDMI slot this option is fine, but on a Nexus with only one port it is inadequate.

I was referring to the Microsoft patent on FAT. I don't see why Google would need to licence it for microSD cards but not usb sticks.

 

[God Mode]

Cloud can screw right off. Increased battery usage due to antenna activity and data charges from the telco. Cloud is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I can see it being useful for small files and settings but not for bulk storage.

 

[Raduque]

The thing is, the people who Google is targeting these phones at, are not going to buy these phones. Nexus devices are for developers and tweakers, and those people want expandable storage.

Regular people are going to buy Apple or a Galaxy, or whichever phone is "free".

 

[Pia]

I don't personally need tons of storage on a phone (16GB seems to be plenty), so microSD slot doesn't factor into my buying decisions. But it can't possibly take much space to put in, so I'm all for it being included for those who need it. If I had a tablet, I'd probably prefer it to have 32GB or so.

By the way, are internal microSD storage and external USB storage equivalent as far as Android OS and apps are concerned, or is there some difference?

 

[s44]

By the way, are internal microSD storage and external USB storage equivalent as far as Android OS and apps are concerned, or is there some difference?

Yeah, though some apps may not find external storage as gracefully (not really an issue when you're just storing media there and not specific app data).

 

[cmdrdredd]

The thing is, the people who Google is targeting these phones at, are not going to buy these phones. Nexus devices are for developers and tweakers, and those people want expandable storage.

Regular people are going to buy Apple or a Galaxy, or whichever phone is "free".

I am perhaps a tweaker...i run custom roms and a custom launcher. I want the microsd cause i can store my backups there. Titanium backup and nandroid. Some place safe off the phone in case something happens.

So i agree with you. Google is missing the mark but i understand why. They want the cloud and i can bet if enough people start using they will start charging for it. Just cause its free now doesn't mean it will always be

 

[Chiropteran]

I don't care at all about SD card slots, but I do agree that 8GB is too small for most users, and 16GB isn't enough as a top end option.

 

[zaydq]

I don't care at all about SD card slots, but I do agree that 8GB is too small for most users, and 16GB isn't enough as a top end option.

^ Bought a 16gb iPhone and I'm regretting it.

 

[sygyzy]

When I had my Nexus One, I was constantly dealing with space issues and it was a real headache. Remember, it had 190MB of application storage onboard and while it supported up to a 32GB SD card, the way Android handled application storage, some space still was needed on the onboard storage. Even using App2SD hacks usually didn't get 100% of the app over.

With my Galaxy Nexus, I don't have any storage problems. It feels great to not have to delete apps to clear space each time I want to install something new. With that said, I just checked my usage and out of 32GB of onboard storage, I've used roughly half of it. I don't really think I need more than 16GB. Well I'd need just about that much maybe a bit more. This makes me think I would be ok with the Nexus 4. I would definitely be ok with uninstalling some things.

I think the only people with space issues are those who insist on having Blu-Ray rips of their favorite movies and 500 albums on their devices. I don't store any media on my phone except pictures from my cameraphone.

 

[sygyzy]

What troubles me more now is how Google is limiting the internal storage and still charging a hefty premium for higher capacities. No 32GB option just seems criminal for anything now.

...


But... for $350 for a Nexus 4 16GB or $400 for a Nexus 10 16GB, I can get over it.

What?

 

[Eug]

8 GB is too small, except for basic users.
IMO for the mainstream, 16 GB is a good compromise.

However, for users like me, 16 GB does give me a bit of "storage annoyance". When I expect to be away from home for several days, I actually carry a 64 GB USB drive and a USB OTG cable for my Nexus 7, with double-digit GB worth of videos on the drive. This works fine on a stock Jelly Bean install, with Nexus Media Importer for video playback. Having microSD would be soooo much more elegant though. External USB drives on a tablet (or phone) is just irritating.

At 32 GB, I would still care, but at 64 GB, not so much.

After using the 16 GB Nexus 7 more while I was on vacation, I do think 32 GB would be the sweet spot for me, unless a 64 GB model was only say $50 more than the 32 GB.

16 GB really is limiting given that it only offers about 13 GB free IIRC, before installing any apps and multimedia content. Usable, but irritating at times.

So, it's quite annoying Google sandbagged on the storage space, and then re-released the Nexus 7 just a couple of months later with 32 GB, for just $10 more than the initial price of the 16 GB model in Canada. We early adopters always get screwed...

 

[purbeast0]

i've never had this and actually wish i had purchased a 16gb iphone instead of a 32gb iphone because the past 2 years i've rarely gone over 16gb of space, and when i did it was because i had a ton of movies/shows on my phone that i had already watched and could have deleted.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I am perhaps a tweaker...i run custom roms and a custom launcher. I want the microsd cause i can store my backups there. Titanium backup and nandroid. Some place safe off the phone in case something happens.

So i agree with you. Google is missing the mark but i understand why. They want the cloud and i can bet if enough people start using they will start charging for it. Just cause its free now doesn't mean it will always be

This is what I don't get. Besides music, what else can you stream from the cloud while running about on your mobile phone?

A 2GB video game? A 4GB 720p movie? The fifty 100MB movie clips that you just shot on your phone? The media that takes the most space is usually the media most difficult/expensive to stream from the cloud. This is the media most in need of being stored locally for consumption.

 

[Eug]

i've never had this and actually wish i had purchased a 16gb iphone instead of a 32gb iphone because the past 2 years i've rarely gone over 16gb of space, and when i did it was because i had a ton of movies/shows on my phone that i had already watched and could have deleted.

For my iPhone, 16 GB is perfectly fine. That's because I generally don't watch video on my iPhone, for two reasons:

1) The screen is quite small.
2) Video playback on the iPhone is often a problem unless you specifically buy iTunes content or else re-encode specifically with iPhone-friendly formats.

 

[Pia]

This is what I don't get. Besides music, what else can you stream from the cloud while running about on your mobile phone?

A 2GB video game? A 4GB 720p movie? The fifty 100MB movie clips that you just shot on your phone? The media that takes the most space is usually the media most difficult/expensive to stream from the cloud. This is the media most in need of being stored locally for consumption.

I'd say it is a very small minority who wants 2GB video games on their phones. The majority either do not play at all, or only play quick timewaster games like Angry Birds which take almost no space. On the other hand, I'd describe myself as a gamer, but I don't want 2GB videogames on my phone either. If a game with that level of scope and assets is worth playing, then it's worth playing from a big screen and with good controls, not from a tiny phone screen.

Kind of the same thing with 4GB 720p movies. For a pocket-size screen, 480p would be perfectly fine and would save battery power in addition to storage, and 720p is a waste. Having the power/storage/battery capacity to run the 720p material as-is may be more convenient, though, if it removes the need to re-encode your stuff and/or store multiple res copies on your PC.