Tablets that are not limited to 2GB for apps

[Prioris Prioris]

I am looking to buy a new tablet.

Number one reason why so many tablets become a pain in the butt and eventually useless is that 2 GB limit on app installable storage.

Number one deceptive practice on sale of tablets is not explicitly stating this 2GB limitation

Number two deceptive practice is telling people that you can move programs to an SD card. There is technical truth to it but it is a lie in practicality.

Number three deceptive practice is suggestions for fixing storage problems ... clean up cache etc .... it is a very temporary band aid and doesn't fix the root of the problem

Another aspect is that reviews rarely if ever mention this. The information has been hid in the specs as well.

I've had many people and sales people state over the years that outside the OS, all of it is available for apps installation. I've had people in many forums tell me the same thing over the years.

Lot of people walking around with lots of useless restricted memory storage. Outside the OS, ideally, I would rather have the rest of memory not restricted.

Some tablets are built for lots of installable app storage but not the standard tablets. These difference are never mentioned.

I know on my galaxy 5 phone, i never seem to run out of space or have memory problems.

So I am looking for tablets that either have large installable app space or are expandable adjustable thru simplified programs thru adb.

There should have been at least a standard program for adb to accomplish this for most tablets.

I'd like a list of tablets along with amount of true app space and other options which expand app space that are ot limited to 2GB

Looking at the ads on amazon and even reviews of tablet never mention this aspect so I have no idea what I'm really buying. I'd like to know how much space I can use for app installation for each tablet.
any links to such information would be good too

Thanks

 

[Prioris Prioris]

Just one more nit on the app storage issue ... the storage indicated I had 1.64 GB used. that seemed to mean I had 360 MB available for app installation. I could not even install a 50MB app. I deleted all the cache and much data and still couldn't account for the storage loss. Outside of unlisted app data, no indication where that app storage went.

I worked in Unix for many decades. How can someone put a storage app on android OS on a standard android that deceives people. Changing the partition table was so easy in Unix too. They could have developed something to adjust table during reset and reinstall of OS and even give superuser privileges to root the tablet.

 

[Prioris Prioris]

It's really amazing how so little is known about probably the most important spec on android and how so few people talk about it. worst is that no advertising mentions it. are there any other places on internet where someone may have more in depth knowledge of android.

 

[1122334455667788]

I think the problem is no one else is having the issue you are. What tablet are you using?

 

[Prioris Prioris]

There is a wall of silence around the 2GB limitation for years. Few will mention it. You ask most people about available space for apps on tablets, they think that - available memory - means available for apps also. So they think they got plenty until they hit that 2GB wall or less. I just wish this limitation was listed in the advertising spec. I sometimes wonder if Google search has been censoring this also.

There are loads of reports on memory storage problems on internet. Not necessarily all are 2GB limitation problems but I think the vast majority are and many people just give up and use minimal number of programs due to lack of solutions or hope that a bandaid solution will get them over the hump. They'll think an SD card solves the problem until they realize virtually all that extra space is restricted also.

I am currently using a Pumpkin tablet. Other than 2GB limit nice tablet. Other low cost tablets like I think RCA and others have same problem. Updating will eventually fail at some point too.

I would like to find a tablet that doesn't have that problem but has reasonable cost.

I think they modify the partition on phones like Galaxy so they don't run into these issues. For people who only use phones, they will likely not encounter this issue.

I think some of the very high priced tablets like galaxy may give work around for the tablets like using adb interface.

 

[1122334455667788]

Do you have any source for this 2GB limit? I have never head of it, or run into it.

 

[treetopsranch]

Another reason why your don't hear about it is the fact that most people don't really use their tablets for real work like word processing, spreadsheet manipulation and large databases. My PC is still king in those areas. You hardly ever see a person in public looking at a tablet. They all have their noses in their smart phone.

 

[Ry]

I'm confused here.

Are you saying that Android tablets only have 2GB available to install applications?

Or that you can't have a single Android app larger the 2GB?

 

[Prioris Prioris]

Android tablets only have 2GB available to install applications

 

[1122334455667788]

Android tablets only have 2GB available to install applications

Can you find any reputable source that mentions this?
I find it hard to believe.
Are you sure you aren't running into a limitation on a particular tablet?
Which tablets have you tried?

 

[Prioris Prioris]

It may be the case that tablets just aren't used that much so most people use the phone, laptop/desktop, roku etc but not so much tablet. I don't know.

 

[Prioris Prioris]

I tried many brands of economical tablets over the past 10 years. Last three were Pumpkin, Nobis and RCA.

 

[1122334455667788]

It may be the case that tablets just aren't used that much so most people use the phone, laptop/desktop, roku etc but not so much tablet. I don't know.

I'm getting a little confused why you won't mention any specific tablets.

 

[Prioris Prioris]

I'm getting a little confused why you won't mention any specific tablets.

sorry. response was to another post

 

[Prioris Prioris]

Can you find any reputable source that mentions this?
I find it hard to believe.

No source Just experience from using multiple tablets. I heard anonymous report many many years back that google intentional did it that way.

If you have some economical 16GB/32GB tablets, you could experiment by trying to install some large free programs that take up lots of space and see what happens.

 

[1122334455667788]

Could you share a screenshot of the storage page on one of these tablets?



Any of the tablets advertised as 8GB may really only have about 2GB available.

32 GB tablets should be fine though.
It is possible that the manufacturers of the really cheap tablets have made some poor partitioning decisions, leaving the partition that apps install on too small.
It is also quite possible that they actually lie about how much storage they have. I've read some reviews on Amazon for some tablets that looked like a really good deal. Apparently have a manipulated settings page that shows a greater screen resolution than is actually there.

I guess it is possible that Google set something up poorly, but given the lack of other complaints, my guess is the individual tablet companies are at fault.

While tablets may not be as popular as phones, I believe it is still a fairly large number. To reach 2GBs, all it takes is installing a few games, so it's not like someone would have to use a tablet extensively to come up against such a limit.

If you are really coming up against software limitations rather that hardware, you may want to look into installing a custom ROM.

 

[1122334455667788]

I sometimes wonder if Google search has been censoring this also.

That sounds a little paranoid.
Besides, I couldn't find much with Bing either, and I really don't see what incentive Microsoft would have to censure such results.

 

[1122334455667788]

I would like to find a tablet that doesn't have that problem but has reasonable cost.

I recommend starting another thread here specifically asking for help picking out a tablet.
Include an approximate budget, and the fact that you definitely want to be able to install lots of apps.
My guess is someone here will have a good suggestion.

 

[Prioris Prioris]

Understanding and Managing Android Storage

"Q- I get Storage Errors When Installing Apps from Google Play what can I do

A- If you try to download an App of file from the Google play store and get the Insufficient Storage error like the one shown below:

On Cheap/inexpensive and older Tablets that have only allocated a small space for Apps this is a big problem."


According to that link, they do have limitation. My tablets used 4.4 KitKat. Every tablet Spec I ever saw keep quiet about this most important number. How does a consumer find this other than calling manufacturer. Even many tablet sellers thru the years don't really know.

 

[1122334455667788]

Understanding and Managing Android Storage

"Q- I get Storage Errors When Installing Apps from Google Play what can I do

A- If you try to download an App of file from the Google play store and get the Insufficient Storage error like the one shown below:

On Cheap/inexpensive and older Tablets that have only allocated a small space for Apps this is a big problem."


According to that link, they do have limitation. My tablets used 4.4 KitKat. Every tablet Spec I ever saw keep quiet about this most important number. How does a consumer find this other than calling manufacturer. Even many tablet sellers thru the years don't really know.

That site seems to have done technical inaccuracies.
Lets assume the broad ideas are correct though.

If I understand correctly, it seems that in KitKat and older, the app partition was separate from the user file/photo/document partition.
This means manufacturers have to decide what ratio to divide the storage in. In my opinion, for devices with an SD card, it would be smarter to make the app partition a larger percentage. But I can see why some companies might lean the other way


Make sure your next tablet comes with a newer version of Android, and you likely won't run into this issue at all. All KitKat devices are insecure at this point anyway.