We've all had the issue before where you buy a new phone and it doesn't have enough memory. Then you have to go out and buy an external memory card, normally something like a microSD card. My question is concerning the size of these types of memory in relation to the devices that use them. Seeing as how the microSD card is the smallest standard form factor of one of these memory cards, would it not make sense that the manufactorers of these mobile devices use something on these lines for the standard internal memory? Am I wrong in my thinking? Is there a reason why we haven't seen many devices outside of Apple's iPhone and few very others with standard system memory over 1GB? If anyone can shed light on this, I would greatly appreciate it.
It simply comes down to size. You don't see much a different between a good micro SD card vs a standard one, but the standard take up much more space. Even though SD cards a re bigger than Micro SD they don't match the performer of internal flash memory. Big internal memory does cost more. So most cell phone makers just go with a little internal memory and ofter a Micro SD card to make up the difference.
I understand that the memory may cost more to include, but using the iPhone as an example, if I may, it doesn't cost all that much for a feature filled smartphone. A comparable PPC, on the other hand, while normally boasting better hardware on the high end, rarely sees higher than 512MB - 1GB. The last one I've seen was the HTC HD2 with 1GB memory. My HTC Touch Pro2 has only 512MB. I know there are a few others in the Android market that have a few gigs, but this is getting to be a problem as a consumer when we see new applications and games come out that use increasing more space. Running them from an external card is always an option, but for some applications and games especially, you trade performance for space. Even though my device supports up to a 32GB card, nothing compares to onboard memory. I would rather use my card for file storage, not running programs.
You answered the question yourself. Apps and especially games take performance hits running from external vs internal memory. Apple gets this. Apps and games are most important to their bottom line then everyone else. They make their phone, the make the os, and they get a percentage of every app sold. So Apple make sure there is plenty of board memory. Plus Steve Jobs is a control freak. Having a micro SD card slot on an iPhone would take away a little of that control.
Perhaps you are right. I'm not a big fan of Apple for their privacy infringement in the first place. It just seems like common sense now a days that phones do more than just make calls. Oh well, it was fun to brainstorm anyway.
