Removable battery and sd card are a joke.

[garublador]

I disagree with most of your post, but I wanted to know what you mean by the above statement except for Nexus....what does that mean??

I think he means that the Nexus 4 doesn't support OTG without using any hacks.

I think the "removable" part of removable storage just isn't very important in a smart phone. The important part is how much cheaper it is than internal storage. Once cost isn't as big of an issue for internal storage I think uSD slots will go away. As Diorarat pointed out, there's always USB OTG if you really need lots of storage. It's not really any harder to carry a USB flash drive than it is another uSD card.

 

[A895]

I think he means that the Nexus 4 doesn't support OTG without using any hacks.

I think the "removable" part of removable storage just isn't very important in a smart phone. The important part is how much cheaper it is than internal storage. Once cost isn't as big of an issue for internal storage I think uSD slots will go away. As Diorarat pointed out, there's always USB OTG if you really need lots of storage. It's not really any harder to carry a USB flash drive than it is another uSD card.

Yes it is, why I need to carry something extra when the microsd card is right there in my phone. What if I lose the flash drive? Its harder to lose something if its already in something else, such as a microsd card in a phone. Its important if you put media locally and not in the cloud or somewhere else. I do everything mostly offline with no data connection, and the cloud does not help then.

Posted via Droid RAZR M on the Android Central App

 

[eshropshire]

I guess this is why Samsung sell so few phones - they provide SD support and removable batteries.

Also, why do so many phones for the Asian market have SD card support. From what I can tell most of the newer HTC phones sold in Asia come with SD card support.

 

[garublador]

Yes it is, why I need to carry something extra when the microsd card is right there in my phone. What if I lose the flash drive? Its harder to lose something if its already in something else, such as a microsd card in a phone. Its important if you put media locally and not in the cloud or somewhere else. I do everything mostly offline with no data connection, and the cloud does not help then.

Posted via Droid RAZR M on the Android Central App

You missed my point. You're comparing a phone with no extra storage with one that has an external uSD card. What if instead of the external uSD card slot it had another, 64GB eMMC? You'd have just as much storage as you do now with a 64GB uSD card, it just wouldn't be removable. That's what I"m saying will happen once internal storage gets cheap enough. Unless they make phones with extra uSD card holders (you'd think they would already do that if people used multiple uSD cards with their phones as often as people on here claim) then you have to carry something around if you want more than what's available on the 2 SDIO ports (one internal and one uSD or two internal). I'm just saying it's not that much more difficult to carry around a USB flash drive and cable than it is an extra uSD card. They're way harder to lose, too.

 

[A895]

You missed my point. You're comparing a phone with no extra storage with one that has an external uSD card. What if instead of the external uSD card slot it had another, 64GB eMMC? You'd have just as much storage as you do now with a 64GB uSD card, it just wouldn't be removable. That's what I"m saying will happen once internal storage gets cheap enough. Unless they make phones with extra uSD card holders (you'd think they would already do that if people used multiple uSD cards with their phones as often as people on here claim) then you have to carry something around if you want more than what's available on the 2 SDIO ports (one internal and one uSD or two internal). I'm just saying it's not that much more difficult to carry around a USB flash drive and cable than it is an extra uSD card. They're way harder to lose, too.

That's too much, a cable and a flash drive just to accommodate to a phone that does not have external storage is too much. Why I do have to compromise just to have a high end phone? Samsung sells so many phones because, look at the S4, has everything but the kitchen sink, including an microsd card slot and a removable battery. I love Motorola, but since they are making their phone with no microsd card slots anymore then I will take my money elsewhere or even to their older phones like the MAXX HD.

Posted via Droid RAZR M on the Android Central App

 

[garublador]

That's too much, a cable and a flash drive just to accommodate to a phone that does not have external storage is too much. Why I do have to compromise just to have a high end phone? Samsung sells so many phones because, look at the S4, has everything but the kitchen sink, including an microsd card slot and a removable battery. I love Motorola, but since they are making their phone with no microsd card slots anymore then I will take my money elsewhere or even to their older phones like the MAXX HD.

Posted via Droid RAZR M on the Android Central App

Again, this is in the future when internal memory is much cheaper. I agree that the phones you're talking about do not have enough memory and that uSD slots are a good idea at this time. However, unless you routinely swap out uSD cards (I've never heard of anyone do that for anything but special circumstances) what I'm suggesting won't change how you use your phone at all. You'll still have just as much storage as what you get now with internal memory and a uSD card. It will only make it work better.

Also, I was wrong about the cable. You'll just need a little device that's slightly larger than a uSD card:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one/270541-missing-micro-sd-card-check-out.html

Sure it's sticking out when you use it, but in the scenerio where you need more than what will fit on two eMMC chips you're probably doing something where that doesn't matter (i.e. watching a movie), anyway.

 

[A895]

Again, this is in the future when internal memory is much cheaper. I agree that the phones you're talking about do not have enough memory and that uSD slots are a good idea at this time. However, unless you routinely swap out uSD cards (I've never heard of anyone do that for anything but special circumstances) what I'm suggesting won't change how you use your phone at all. You'll still have just as much storage as what you get now with internal memory and a uSD card. It will only make it work better.

Also, I was wrong about the cable. You'll just need a little device that's slightly larger than a uSD card:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one/270541-missing-micro-sd-card-check-out.html

Sure it's sticking out when you use it, but in the scenerio where you need more than what will fit on two eMMC chips you're probably doing something where that doesn't matter (i.e. watching a movie), anyway.

Yes it will, I will have to start carrying something extra, plug it in and pay for it to begin with. I would rather keep using the same 16GB microsd card I have been using for the past year and half. Still almost 14GB of storage left and I have music, pics, and videos on their that I have to keep.

Posted via Droid RAZR M on the Android Central App

 

[jay r3]

I agree, In my HTC sensation 4 1.5 years into the contract the battery only last till 2:00. since i work trade shows and not always have access to a plug have the ability to swap out the dead bat for a recharged one is a lifesaver, for me the s4 is my next phone. why consumers that shell out $600 plus would accept this is beyond me.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Here's my honest opinion.

SD cards are not a joke. It's always nice to have more storage available when your device's internal memory becomes clogged up. However, it's a joke when you can't move apps to the card, which is stupid, IMO. What's the point of an SD card when you can't move apps to it? Many devices are now allowing this, though, which is something to be thankful for.

Removable battery is NOT A COMPLETE JOKE! Think about it. Having an extra battery that's fully charged is darn useful. Once one battery dies, you can swap it out for the other one and continue using the phone without wasting hours charging it. If you have a battery charger, even better, charge the dead battery while you're using the spare, then vice versa.

 

[Joe Barry]

I agree, In my HTC sensation 4 1.5 years into the contract the battery only last till 2:00. since i work trade shows and not always have access to a plug have the ability to swap out the dead bat for a recharged one is a lifesaver, for me the s4 is my next phone. why consumers that shell out $600 plus would accept this is beyond me.

I completely agree with you, the deciding factor for me buying the phone was the user removable battery and SD slot; otherwise I would not have purchased it at all. I'm serious too as I have voted with my wallet over the years and have stayed away from phones that didn't have both of those features; many people I work with do the same thing and I think Samsung knows & understands this and has capitalized on it and I am very happy they have. For those they don't want/need those features no big deal you can simply throw away your phone when the battery's runtime descreases too much over time and not buy an SD card and you'd be all set, or you could skip the phone and get one that doesn't have those features, just the same as I have skipped every model to date that doesn't contain those features. Life is good......we have choices, one size does NOT fit all.

 

[Raptor007]

Hey it's great YOU don't want removable battery or microSD, but I sure as hell DO. I do swap batteries during the day. I like putting all of my media, pictures and attachments on my microSD card. Why would I want to use the cloud which sucks up my monthly bandwidth, my goal is NOT to make a carrier richer but to make my life easier. The same companies ditching microSD and removable batteries are the same ones NOT including sufficient internal storage and are still pushing 16/32GB options when they should be offering 64/128B options since memory is CHEAP. As for batteries, they are stuffing the biggest things they can into the phone but the problem still arrives that charging takes longer and shortens the batteries life and then you have to send it out for repair/replacement.

No thanks as long as Samsung offers removable batteries and microSD I will be buying their products.

 

[anon(50597)]

OK, I admit I skipped some of the responses but lighten up people. It is just an opinion. I just got a Nexus 4 so I am testing out the OP's opinion. I have bought many spare batteries but have to admit I never use them. I also don't store tons of music or photos on my phone so I really don't need a lot of storage. I've only had it for a few days but, so far, don't miss the battery or card. Again, just my opinion.

 

[vasekvi]

Well if you're going to title your thread SD card and removable battery are a joke the you'll have to expect a heated debate.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Sprawl]

I know, while having a removable battery to me isnt' that important (though I expect the battery to last a full day anyways),

Removable SD card is a must! I dont store any of my media local to the phone. I want to be able to pull it out anytime, make backups to it. Save data.

A place that if my phone dies, I have full ability to restore it without loosing any content. I also have about 25gb of Music i put on the phone.

The Cloud isn't a suitable solution for this, especially in the Canadian market where Data is capped at low rates and have expensive overage charges.

 

[garublador]

The Cloud isn't a suitable solution for this, especially in the Canadian market where Data is capped at low rates and have expensive overage charges.

Except that you don't need data to do that. You can do it all over WiFi. You can automatically save stuff to a local drive that way as well. Plus, if you set it up to work automatically then you won't run into the situation where you could forget to manually back up your data.

The big advantage of micro SD slots is you get more memory cheaper. The fact that it's removable isn't very important and easily worked around.

 

[Sprawl]

Except that you don't need data to do that. You can do it all over WiFi. You can automatically save stuff to a local drive that way as well. Plus, if you set it up to work automatically then you won't run into the situation where you could forget to manually back up your data.

The big advantage of micro SD slots is you get more memory cheaper. The fact that it's removable isn't very important and easily worked around.

Problem with this is still that many Canadians have caps on their home networks too.
your standard rogers/bell accounts come with 60gb caps.

 

[garublador]

Problem with this is still that many Canadians have caps on their home networks too.
your standard rogers/bell accounts come with 60gb caps.

That's only to external sites. They can't limit how much you transfer from your phone to your computer at home.

If that doesn't work you can always just connect your phone to your PC with a USB cable. How is that so much harder than having to fiddle with the SD card?

 

[Sprawl]

That's only to external sites. They can't limit how much you transfer from your phone to your computer at home.

If that doesn't work you can always just connect your phone to your PC with a USB cable. How is that so much harder than having to fiddle with the SD card?

Perfectly acceptible too.

But if i've got 20 some odd gigs of media I want to take around with me, lets say, in music form. the options are
A> shrink my library and playlist based on the size of the internal storage available to me after OS and installed applications
B> move to a cloud system. As mentioned, Expensive in a lot of areas. In Canada, the Typical data plan for 2gb of data will run 70-$100/mth with overages around $2/mb. WiFi is also not available to everywhere everywhere. For example, during the course of my day while I am at work, there is zero Wifi. I'm purely on HSPA cell data (no LTE/4G in my town)

With a removable memory card i can just put everything on the memory card and voila. The alternative you say is "buy a phone with bigger storage". The cost to move from the 16 to 32gb of storage in a phone, For..... wow. i've spent the last 30 minutes looking, and I can't find a single carrier in Ontario that has 32gb, or 64gb devices. The Carriers here wont carry them. IMAGINE THAT!

Meanwhile a 64gb Class10 MicroSD card can be bought as low as $70:
if you compare that to what Apple charges for the difference between 16gb phone and their 64gb phone. 16gb iphone5, 699. 64GB =899. $200 for the additional 48gb of storage, vs 70 for additional 64

 

[garublador]

With a removable memory card i can just put everything on the memory card and voila. The alternative you say is "buy a phone with bigger storage". The cost to move from the 16 to 32gb of storage in a phone, For..... wow. i've spent the last 30 minutes looking, and I can't find a single carrier in Ontario that has 32gb, or 64gb devices. The Carriers here wont carry them. IMAGINE THAT!

I'm just pointing out that "cheap storage" is really what you're saying is a "must" and that whether or not it's removable doesn't matter. I agree that if you want to carry media with you then you need 64GB at least, but there's nothing about it that needs to be removable. It just needs to be cheap and that will come with time.

FWIW, I'm also on a 2GB plan (actually 4GB total that my wife and I share) and I use Dropbox for my pictures and we've never come close to using the amount of data you have available per month. We typically use about 1/4 of our data plan and have come nowhere near using 60GB of internet data per month. 60GB will give you 26 hours of "best" quality video from Netflix (the default in the US). It will give you 200 hours of "good" quality video (the default in Canada). With the extra 1.5GB of data I have I could access 250 6MB media files (either songs or pictures) per month.

The caps sound awful, but you have to be a pretty heavy user to go over them. Granted I have no idea how you use your internet connections, but what we do seems on the "typical" side. It's easier with a phone because streaming music and video will get you to that cap quick, but 60GB is a lot for a residential data connection.

 

[Central n ohios best]

I know i will get a lot of negative reactions to this topic, but the thing is, I see removable batteries and sd cards as a big scam. In particular by Samsung. They are the only ones releasing flagships with removable batteries and external memory cards in this year's line-up. Nokia, HTC, Nexus Series, Blackberry, Sony, Apple and other big names don't bother with removable batteries with their flagship phones anymore.

Heres the thing with batteries:
Flagships today dont last a day on heavy usage, its natural to have the ability to switch batteries right? I don't think so. I had that mentality last year that's why I got the GS3. I never changed the battery on it on a year's use. There is just no chance for me to change batteries. When I go to work, I bring along my charger, when I am using it at home, I can always plug it in when it is about to run dry. When I go out and I know I won't expect to find a plug, I bring a powerbank. Powerbanks offers more convenience than bringing a spare battery. #1. It is easy to charge up the device by just plugging it. Changing batteries is a bit of a problem, most of us have protective casing to remove first, plus removing the back side of the Galaxy S series isn't pretty. The back is made of plastic, everytime I open it, I feel like the tiny bits of plastics on the sides of the back that hold it to the device are going to break. I want to avoid taking the plastic back off and on to prevent it from breaking. And most of all, I hate turning the device on and off just to change batteries. There are times when I am in the middle of a video conference and turning the phone on and off just to swap batteries is being a bit more of a nuisance. #2. Unless you bought a separate charging unit for your extra battery you'd wind up doing the whole process of changing batteries on your phone just to charge your extra battery. So how does removable batteries become an integral part in people's choice for their next smartphone? The only benefit of having a removable battery is you can change it personally when it starts to age. The most annoying part of the whole removable battery fiasco is that Samsung charges a hefty price for the Galaxy S line of battery because they said it has NFC in it. Why did you put NFC on the battery Samsung???? I dont get this part at all.

Removable SD Cards is a more tricky situation, people want SD Cards because it is an assurance of seemingly unlimited storage. But for me, I began to see it as something which can be omitted. Removable SD cards have been problematic for me with my GS3, normally you can only put media files on it and apps would go on the phones memory. Like all average consumers I thought its an awesome deal to get a 16gb model and upgrade it with a 32gb sd card. I discovered that SD cards write too slow making transferring large media files a bit too long, it is sometimes unreliable calling out a need to reformat it. These are just small details I can live with. My biggest problem is battery drain. Try to google media server battery drain problems. It is still unresolved (correct me if I am wrong) and it points to the external memory card as a culprit as the device constantly scan the SD Card. It takes 20-40% of some people's battery drain per day. Some suggest that removing media on the card solves the problem. But the thing is, if you can't put media then what's the point of having a sd card? You can't normally put apps in the card.

Unibody designs without removable sd cards and battery doesn't seem so bad considering these points. Without removable batteries, phones can be constructed with more focus on designs that can be seen in the Iphone series, xperia series, One series and Lumia Series which make the Galaxy series look like a toy. As for extended memories, 32 GB is the sweet spot. You get all the apps and media in a single storage. For tv series and HD movies I'd like to watch on my phone on long trips, there is the most under-appreciated feature on android phones(except nexus) people forget, USB OTG. Put all your HD movies in flash drives and plug it in when you want to start watching. It is whole lot easier than swapping a external sd card.

Seeing as I have both a removable battery and sd card I can say its no scam. Its been countless times switching batteries saved me when I was on the road or forgot my charger.

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