What is Internal Memory vs RAM?

[dbareis]

Hi,

I can't find any information on what internal memory is (and used for). My phone (Motorola Milestone) currently has 35MB RAM free and 28MB Internal memory. I tried to find a web site explaining the difference, anyone know of one?

This is what Motorola claim for the phones specs (one type of RAM mentioned):

* RAM_capacity: 256 MiB
* ROM;capacity: 512 MiB (accessible: 256 MiB)

Removing applications seems to clear up some of each. If the internal memory is too low you get a notification, if RAM too low it seems to cause random issues (such as DNS failures or slowness).

Thanks
Dennis

 

[Jconner05]

Hi,

I can't find any information on what internal memory is (and used for). My phone (Motorola Milestone) currently has 35MB RAM free and 28MB Internal memory. I tried to find a web site explaining the difference, anyone know of one?

This is what Motorola claim for the phones specs (one type of RAM mentioned):

* RAM_capacity: 256 MiB
* ROM;capacity: 512 MiB (accessible: 256 MiB)

Removing applications seems to clear up some of each. If the internal memory is too low you get a notification, if RAM too low it seems to cause random issues (such as DNS failures or slowness).

Thanks
Dennis

I'm pretty sure RAM is used for running applications/processes. ROM is the amount of space you have for apps and probably other various things.

Low RAM will slow your phone down dramatically. I find that the Android OS does a great job at managing RAM when left alone (a.k.a. not using task managers). Uninstalling or moving apps to your SD card will free up ROM space, and allow for more apps.

 

[takeshi]

Removing applications seems to clear up some of each. If the internal memory is too low you get a notification, if RAM too low it seems to cause random issues (such as DNS failures or slowness).

Think of internal memory as hard drive space on your PC and RAM as, well, RAM on your PC. If you uninstall a running app you'll see a decrease in use of both. Generally, Android manages RAM well enough on its own. RAM usage on Android is quite a bit different than it is on a PC. Fully used RAM is not a problem on Android. If you're noticing that RAM usage and erratic behavior together it's probably coincidence. Try paying attention to CPU usage and erratic behavior.

That said, a misbehaving app can cause problems regardless.