16gb Memory - is it a problem? If so, what are the solutions?

[michaelkingdom]

I have a Thunderbolt with a 32gb memory card. When I saw the DNA specs show 16gb I got nervous so I check my Tbolt to see how much memory I currently use.

Internal Storage:
1.64 GB available (of 8 GB)

SD Card:
Total space: 29.71 GB
Available space: 22.60 GB

So, 6.5 GB on internal and 7.11 GB on the SD = 13.61 GB used.

Now, I've got about 1000 8-megapixel photos, 20 mp3/flac albums and app data. So, it looks like I'll be fine with the DNA.

But if I run out of space, what is the next step? What is the easiest cloud to use? Maybe I'll just transfer my pics to the computer when the memory get full.

 

[Infinite Jest]

I was disappointed as well when it was first announced there would only be a 16 GB model. However I did the same thing as you, taking stock of what I actually use, and found I basically never access anything on my microSD card (I have a 32 GB microSD card in a 32 GB S III) which is mostly filled with music. I went through everything on my on board memory and found that I had about 6 GB in apps I wanted to keep/use and another 4 or so in files. Trimming back the fat, it looks like I would be fine with 11GB of space, albeit not having any kind of space cushion or flexibility sucks. Why they didn't just announce a 16 GB and a 32 GB, I'll never understand.

 

[michaelkingdom]

Well, I use Rdio for music. It seems like local storage is the bacon fat in the veins of a smart phone. The more you eat, the slower the phone gets. Perhaps best to keep things light.

 

[dsignori]

The next step is to use cloud storage I would think. Google Drive, Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Music, Amazon Music, etc, etc..

That said, I see the rest of the thread going like this: Most people on A/C and in these forums are not going to be happy with 16GB no matter what anyone says. For the vast majority of other folks out there, normal users, 16GB is more than enough. I guarantee you though that 99% of the responses here will be how it's unacceptable, and that is certainly a quite valid response, it's just not mine.

If I was a big music lover and I absolutely (1) had to have 10 or 20 GB of music on my phone and (2) Had to have it locally, thus couldn't or won't stream it (3) needed to play lots and lots of music every day: I would just use an iPod or something. (Silly me). I do at times. For me, there is need to waste my phone's battery or space with all that music anyway. I use Spotify personally when I need to. Again, most others here will disagree..

For photos, etc. I have my photos automatically go to Dropbox, and I use Picasa as well. So cloud storage works very well for me. It is not going to work well for everyone, and I will say 1 more time that most of the folks responding here will talk about how they are away from wifi all the time, don't want to burn data on cloud services so they need local storage, and won't use a music player for some reason. That too is very valid, but hasn't at all been an issue for me personally. I suspect each person will need to see what their own storage needs are based on their use case..

 

[osubeavs728]

The cloud really isn't all that bad. I don't really use a ton of apps, just essential things, maybe a game or two that never get played. I have a 32Gb Gnex and have only used 1Gb of storage on the damn thing.

Google music has been great for me, and if you really need an album to go with you you can pin it to your device. I mostly use slacker or pandora for music, it's nice to not just cycle through my same ol library all the time. I haven't used drop box yet but i've heard it's great.
Also as far as pictures another thing that i haven't seen mentioned yet is this: you can have pictures you take automatically synced to your google + account. That way you snap a pic, uploads to your account and then you can delete it if you feel so inclined or if you don't want to use the other photo services. You could use the account as a photo dump and just have no one be able to view your profile or be your friend haha

 

[Wildo6882]

I'm currently on an iPhone 5 32gb. I have nearly 21gb used of the 28gb available. However, 10.5 of that is music and pics which could be allocated elsewhere (Google music and DropBox). I guess the remainder is apps and whatnot. I have a lot of games that I absolutely never play, so I guess I could kill off some of those and only put on the ones I really use. I wish it was 32gb, but with Cloud storage, I could make 16 work and get away from the iOS empire.

 

[FishPharm]

The cloud really isn't all that bad. I don't really use a ton of apps, just essential things, maybe a game or two that never get played. I have a 32Gb Gnex and have only used 1Gb of storage on the damn thing.

Google music has been great for me, and if you really need an album to go with you you can pin it to your device. I mostly use slacker or pandora for music, it's nice to not just cycle through my same ol library all the time. I haven't used drop box yet but i've heard it's great.
Also as far as pictures another thing that i haven't seen mentioned yet is this: you can have pictures you take automatically synced to your google + account. That way you snap a pic, uploads to your account and then you can delete it if you feel so inclined or if you don't want to use the other photo services. You could use the account as a photo dump and just have no one be able to view your profile or be your friend haha

I've been doing the picture and video thing with Google + but I was wondering what other people are doing with their videos? I'm still not 100% sure about cloud storage. Do your videos and pictures upload at high quality or are they decreased somehow?

 

[osubeavs728]

I've been doing the picture and video thing with Google + but I was wondering what other people are doing with their videos? I'm still not 100% sure about cloud storage. Do your videos and pictures upload at high quality or are they decreased somehow?

I've never shot a video on my phone before unfortunately, but I don't notice a quality decrease with photos. I do have a gnex though so the photos aren't A+ quality to begin with haha the thing I like most about cloud is that I can get to it from ANYTHING. my computer, my phone, my tablet, my friend's computer. It doesn't matter I can always reach it if I need.

 

[FishPharm]

I've never shot a video on my phone before unfortunately, but I don't notice a quality decrease with photos. I do have a gnex though so the photos aren't A+ quality to begin with haha the thing I like most about cloud is that I can get to it from ANYTHING. my computer, my phone, my tablet, my friend's computer. It doesn't matter I can always reach it if I need.

I have a gnex and just to let you know, you aren't missing much from not taking video's either....lol I've defended the whole SD argument because I do like to have options but I do admit that the cloud service isn't bad. I have mine set to automatically upload every pic and video I take to google plus but like you, I don't do much of either because the camera isn't the best. It also concerns me that if cloud becomes our only real option what will happen with the price?

 

[FishPharm]

Here's a question that may have been asked already. I was curious if a micro usb card device would work on the DNA. I'm not sure if I'm describing it right or not but about a year ago when we were discussing the GN with no SD slot someone told me about a little device that plugs into the micro usb port that allows you to use a microSD card. So is this an option??

 

[Wildo6882]

Here's a question that may have been asked already. I was curious if a micro usb card device would work on the DNA. I'm not sure if I'm describing it right or not but about a year ago when we were discussing the GN with no SD slot someone told me about a little device that plugs into the micro usb port that allows you to use a microSD card. So is this an option??

I heard it supports USB hosting, so it should. But I don't know for sure.

 

[jreed2560]

One thing that I haven't heard a lot of people talking about here is if you decide to root this thing, and you are a crack flasher, where are all those nandroid backups going to fit?

 

[osubeavs728]

I have a gnex and just to let you know, you aren't missing much from not taking video's either....lol I've defended the whole SD argument because I do like to have options but I do admit that the cloud service isn't bad. I have mine set to automatically upload every pic and video I take to google plus but like you, I don't do much of either because the camera isn't the best. It also concerns me that if cloud becomes our only real option what will happen with the price?

I don't think the prices of phones will go down much. They will go down if they have lower internal storage, ala the DNA. The data prices have already gone up, hence the push for cloud based services :-\

 

[Appogee]

I have a Thunderbolt with a 32gb memory card. When I saw the DNA specs show 16gb I got nervous so I check my Tbolt to see how much memory I currently use.

Internal Storage:
1.64 GB available (of 8 GB)

SD Card:
Total space: 29.71 GB
Available space: 22.60 GB

So, 6.5 GB on internal and 7.11 GB on the SD = 13.61 GB used.

Now, I've got about 1000 8-megapixel photos, 20 mp3/flac albums and app data. So, it looks like I'll be fine with the DNA.

But if I run out of space, what is the next step? What is the easiest cloud to use? Maybe I'll just transfer my pics to the computer when the memory get full.

Easy, buy the HTC J Butterfly instead. Has everything the DNA has including a microSD card and GSM HSPA+ bands.

 

[lakaw]

Then there is this as well: Seagate Wireless Plus drive. If it has some sort of Wi-Fi direct, I could keep my music there. Although this probably wouldn't be feasible on an airplane...

 

[chickweedblur]

Then there is this as well: Seagate Wireless Plus drive. If it has some sort of Wi-Fi direct, I could keep my music there. Although this probably wouldn't be feasible on an airplane...

Similar option here: Amazon.com: Kingston Wi-Drive 32 GB USB 2.0 Pocket-sized Portable Storage WID/32GBZ: Electronics - ok for trips but not the most elegant solution. I don't actually have a problem with 16gb - if it actually was 16gb, not 11gb. Makes it kind of hard to carry high-quality content to show off that beautiful screen! Maybe 1 or 2 movies if you used Handbrake.

 

[bellken]

I heard it supports USB hosting, so it should. But I don't know for sure.

It works, I have connected a usb drive to my Droid DNA, and, read the contents of the drive.

 

[markymark]

The next step is to use cloud storage I would think. Google Drive, Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Music, Amazon Music, etc, etc..

That said, I see the rest of the thread going like this: Most people on A/C and in these forums are not going to be happy with 16GB no matter what anyone says. For the vast majority of other folks out there, normal users, 16GB is more than enough. I guarantee you though that 99% of the responses here will be how it's unacceptable, and that is certainly a quite valid response, it's just not mine.

If I was a big music lover and I absolutely (1) had to have 10 or 20 GB of music on my phone and (2) Had to have it locally, thus couldn't or won't stream it (3) needed to play lots and lots of music every day: I would just use an iPod or something. (Silly me). I do at times. For me, there is need to waste my phone's battery or space with all that music anyway. I use Spotify personally when I need to. Again, most others here will disagree..

For photos, etc. I have my photos automatically go to Dropbox, and I use Picasa as well. So cloud storage works very well for me. It is not going to work well for everyone, and I will say 1 more time that most of the folks responding here will talk about how they are away from wifi all the time, don't want to burn data on cloud services so they need local storage, and won't use a music player for some reason. That too is very valid, but hasn't at all been an issue for me personally. I suspect each person will need to see what their own storage needs are based on their use case..

Let's put it this way....right now I have an OG Droid Incredible. It has 8g internal storage and 32g SD for a total of 40g of storage. I have 8 gig of music loaded on the SD, which isn't even that much, only around 1200 songs or so. Friends of mine have 3 or 4 times that. But I can easily triple the amount of music I can carry with me, and play directly from memory, without using a data connection or paying extra for cloud storage or worrying about caps on my data usage. And using my preferred music player (Poweramp) which doesn't support playing music from the cloud. This is on a 2 1/2 year old phone.

But now, 2 1/2 years later, on the supposed latest and greatest state of the art phone, I can't carry the same 8g of music with me because the phone only has 11g of usable storage which isn't enough to hold my apps and music. Which by the way is a very modest amount. So I have to scramble around, figuring out how to make up for this deficiency by altering my behavior, or paying extra for cloud storage (which by the way comes free with HTC phones on other carriers but not Verizon), or not listening to my music when I don't have a data connection, or running down my battery streaming music from the cloud when my old 2 1/2 year old phone could play it directly from the phone. And worrying that every time I go to Amazon MP3 and purchase some music, I might be going short on storage on my phone. Or worrying how close I'm coming to my data caps and that I'll get an unwanted surprise on my next bill.

LOL...come on....it's absurd. With all the advances in smartphone technology since the original Dinc, we're supposed to settle for a phone with less than a third the available memory? Fail. Big time.

 

[dsignori]

Let's put it this way....right now I have an OG Droid Incredible. It has 8g internal storage and 32g SD for a total of 40g of storage. I have 8 gig of music loaded on the SD, which isn't even that much, only around 1200 songs or so. Friends of mine have 3 or 4 times that. But I can easily triple the amount of music I can carry with me, and play directly from memory, without using a data connection or paying extra for cloud storage or worrying about caps on my data usage. And using my preferred music player (Poweramp) which doesn't support playing music from the cloud. This is on a 2 1/2 year old phone.

But now, 2 1/2 years later, on the supposed latest and greatest state of the art phone, I can't carry the same 8g of music with me because the phone only has 11g of usable storage which isn't enough to hold my apps and music. Which by the way is a very modest amount. So I have to scramble around, figuring out how to make up for this deficiency by altering my behavior, or paying extra for cloud storage (which by the way comes free with HTC phones on other carriers but not Verizon), or not listening to my music when I don't have a data connection, or running down my battery streaming music from the cloud when my old 2 1/2 year old phone could play it directly from the phone. And worrying that every time I go to Amazon MP3 and purchase some music, I might be going short on storage on my phone. Or worrying how close I'm coming to my data caps and that I'll get an unwanted surprise on my next bill.

LOL...come on....it's absurd. With all the advances in smartphone technology since the original Dinc, we're supposed to settle for a phone with less than a third the available memory? Fail. Big time.

LOL, exactly what I said right? " Most people on A/C and in these forums are not going to be happy with 16GB no matter what anyone says"

 

[aaronc_98]

Easy, buy the HTC J Butterfly instead. Has everything the DNA has including a microSD card and GSM HSPA+ bands.

Would the J Butterfly work on Verizons LTE network?

thanks,

Aaron