[jrdatrackstar1223]

People keep saying the lack of expendable storage is a turn off from Windows Phone devices, but with SkyDrive free 25GB and Zune Pass, why would people need more and expendable memory?

Unless I'm not understanding what Zune Pass is, isn't it like you being able to listen to music anywhere and at anytime from the Music marketplace without having to actually download it? As in, with my Zune Pass, I could load a new device for the first time and go to the Music Marketplace and stream albums without having to download it? If this is what it is, I don't see the need for extra memory (especially if it means it could get manufacturers to be more likely to produce Windows Phones because of lower costs).

The only time I guess this would suck is in an area of bad/no connection with no WiFi (and I also understand a lot of people feel unsafe about cloud services like SkyDrive)

[Judge_Daniel]

The problem arising (or that we are already facing, I guess) is that (Windows) phones are having less than ideal storage space while carriers are simultaneously putting more pressure on data usage. Data prices have been going up (and only Sprint, which has the subpar Arrive [no offense to Arrive owners], has unlimited data still) in the past years, while WP has removed the ability to expand storage space in our devices. Because of this, streaming music from the cloud is not ideal, but we lack enough space to store the music that we already have.

That being said, I've been using my Focus with only 8gb just fine. I only put one playlist on there at a time, though--and no video.

[scottcraft]

Well said Judge Daniel. Streaming music without unlimited data isn't a good idea unless you're on wifi a lot.

[Umm Yeah]

Am I the only one not worried about storage space?

yes.

[theefman]

Spend years building up a music/video collection, you should be able to listen to your music, watch your videos without being required to add yet another expense to your monthly bill. Zune pass, Spotify, Pandora should be options, not required.

[Rallicat]

Allot of WP7 devices (even newer ones) seem to be stuck with 16GB storage - which is a dissapointment. However, the main question is really about how much storage you actually need.

If your music collection is more than 16GB, or even if it isn't but is going to be large enough to leave you without much space left for anything else - then maybe the lack of 32 or 64 GB storage options is going to be a deal breaker for you.

It's probably a good idea to look at what else you want to store on the phone besides music too. I for example currently sync around 7GB of photos onto my iPhone (planning to move to WP7 when the Lumia 800 is released) - but with Skydrive I can keep that in my online storage rather than having it on the handset - so I'll save some space there right away.

So - take a look at what you're storing, what you really need, and whether or not it all needs to be on the device.

[Judge_Daniel]

Allot of WP7 devices (even newer ones) seem to be stuck with 16GB storage - which is a dissapointment. However, the main question is really about how much storage you actually need.

If your music collection is more than 16GB, or even if it isn't but is going to be large enough to leave you without much space left for anything else - then maybe the lack of 32 or 64 GB storage options is going to be a deal breaker for you.

It's probably a good idea to look at what else you want to store on the phone besides music too. I for example currently sync around 7GB of photos onto my iPhone (planning to move to WP7 when the Lumia 800 is released) - but with Skydrive I can keep that in my online storage rather than having it on the handset - so I'll save some space there right away.

So - take a look at what you're storing, what you really need, and whether or not it all needs to be on the device.

I sort of agree. If we are going to be stuck in this situation of 16gb or less on a phone with streaming being out of the question for many, then prioritization is going to become a must. When on Wifi or when synced up to your computer, you'll want to remove every photo from your phone either into the cloud or onto your hard drive (from which you could upload to the cloud, if you wish). Same with personal videos. That will allow you to continue to have space to shoot pictures or video in the future, while still having the same amount of music on your phone.

Speaking of music, I don't think I can advocate enough the use of playlists on low-memory phones. Just make a new playlist, name it something like WP7, then start dragging your albums or artists that you're really "into" at the moment to it. Then, delete all the music currently on your phone and then sync just the playlist to your phone. The playlist will already tell you its size, too, so you will be able to tell if it is getting too large for your phone or not.

My biggest concerns for these phones, though, is that I won't be able to put a single movie on my phone and that the OS takes up part of the given memory. Say my Focus has 8gb. Well, more than 2gb is taken up by the OS. Add apps to that, then my music, then saved space for any pictures or video I might want to take (because I can't even imagine how angry I'd be if I wanted to take a picture on my phone and my memory was full), and I'm already running pretty low. I was going to put Captain America on my phone for during my plane rides a few weeks ago, but I just couldn't do it and feel secure about the remaining storage space. I survived the plane rides, but it would've been nice to have. :P

[Rallicat]

Thanks for the suggestion on playlists - good idea.

I'd advocate conversion of movies where possible to a smaller size and resolution. It'd be great if Zune could do this for you in the same way it can downshift the bitrate of music.

[Judge_Daniel]

Thanks for the suggestion on playlists - good idea.

I'd advocate conversion of movies where possible to a smaller size and resolution. It'd be great if Zune could do this for you in the same way it can downshift the bitrate of music.

I wish so, too, since I have no idea how to do this, lol.

[Rallicat]

I wish so, too, since I have no idea how to do this, lol.

Try Real Player ..... yeah, I know - it's a terrible media player! However it /does/ come with a very easy media converter program which can convert video files to various different formats, and is super simple.

You just launch the converter - drag and drop your video file into the window, choose a profile to convert to and hit convert button! It has a built in 'Zune' profile, but you might want to create something a little more custom for Windows Phone handsets - even this is pretty easy, just choose the media format for the video and audio and save it for later use.

If you do choose to go down this route, ignore any attempt to try and get you to buy 'RealPlayer Plus' - you /don't/ need it, the converter /is/ part of the free version!

[aubreyq]

Try Real Player ..... yeah, I know - it's a terrible media player! However it /does/ come with a very easy media converter program which can convert video files to various different formats, and is super simple.

You just launch the converter - drag and drop your video file into the window, choose a profile to convert to and hit convert button! It has a built in 'Zune' profile, but you might want to create something a little more custom for Windows Phone handsets - even this is pretty easy, just choose the media format for the video and audio and save it for later use.

If you do choose to go down this route, ignore any attempt to try and get you to buy 'RealPlayer Plus' - you /don't/ need it, the converter /is/ part of the free version!

Good suggestion. Handbrake is also a good, free program to convert video but I haven't played with portable media player settings yet.

[vdubskey]

I have a 32gb card in my Focus and only have 15 gigs used. But I like knowing I'm not running out of space anytime soon. I have about 100gb worth of Music and Movies, but have no need for all of it on my phone. I have a car pc in my car that takes care of that. But I don't think people should use the excuse that we have SkyDrive or Zune Pass. You won't always have great internet connections so you will be **** outta luck if your not in a good area. I'm personally not stressing on it, but I think a phone should always have a SD slot for the "Just In Case" option.

[aubreyq]

I have a 32gb card in my Focus and only have 15 gigs used. But I like knowing I'm not running out of space anytime soon. I have about 100gb worth of Music and Movies, but have no need for all of it on my phone. I have a car pc in my car that takes care of that. But I don't think people should use the excuse that we have SkyDrive or Zune Pass. You won't always have great internet connections so you will be **** outta luck if your not in a good area. I'm personally not stressing on it, but I think a phone should always have a SD slot for the "Just In Case" option.

I can understand if Microsoft doesn't want to do microSD anymore but if that is the case they should push manufacturers to get some 32GB phones out there. I know there is a cost issue but dang, I thought flash storage was supposed to go down in price with time, so what is going on here? Did Apple really buy so much memory in advance?

I agree with you on the Zune Pass/SkyDrive argument. Not everyone wants or needs to stream. In my case, I'd like more storage because:

- 3G and WiFi suck up a lot of battery

- I only have a 200MB data plan

- Streaming audio may not give you the optimal experience because you are at the mercy of the signal quality

Hope Nokia gives us at least one 32GB phone next year.

[cckgz4]

So far I've been ok. While trimming my music down, I've realized I don't listen to most of the music in my collection frequently

[enahs555]

Windows Live Movie Maker (free from Microsoft) can open most video formats, then you just go to [File Menu] | [Save As]
And there you have many options, including Windows Phone Large and Windows Phone Small

The large is 854x480 @ 30 FPS, the Video is 5000kbs and the audio is 128kbs.
The small is 426x240 @ 30 FPS, the video is 1500kbs and the audio is 96kbs.

That is the easiest most reliable free way to do convert movies for you phone, in two different sizes.

[species5618]

While I would appreciate the option to increase storage size, 16G is more than enough for me. That's about 10 days of music. Is it so important to not hear the same song every 10 days?

[paoarchi15]

In my opinion atm 16gb is enough (I've only used 5gb)

for one, i don't really understand the point of putting your entire media library in a phone and barely touch them. (I listen to music in my phone 2 hours max and barely hear 1/2 of my songs)

two, have you notice that iphone releases 16/32/64gb models but only gives you 5gb of "free storage" in the iCloud while microsoft/manufact. sells 16gb (on average) but offers "25gb" of storage.

and lastly is there really a need to consume all 16gb of spaces in your phone... for what... lol


(A person who believes that laptop is still better devices smaller than 13" and possible might not embrace an era without pc's)

[rluka]

Thanks for the suggestion on playlists - good idea.

I'd advocate conversion of movies where possible to a smaller size and resolution. It'd be great if Zune could do this for you in the same way it can downshift the bitrate of music.

It didn't do that ?

Can't speak about in Windows Phone (need cross check) but when copying movies to Zune HD, it will convert the file. I don't have the HD dock, so the setting converted the movie file into smaller resolution. That's why it always took long time and heavy processor work everytime copying movies into Zune or Windows Phone.

[ecthroi]

i'm with OP here. i've got about 24 hours worth of music loaded onto my Flash (obv not the best quality....but it's a phone, come on) and still have a gig or two left for apps/photos/etc. that's an 8 gig phone, cut down to around 6 after OS. i do not understand what these people need 25 feature films and their entire music collections on their phone for. get an ipod or an ipad, jeez.

and yes, i also have an ipod. 160 gig, slap full (at high quality, of course). but having SOME stuff on my phone as a backup or whatever, 6 gigs of storage is plenty. i guess maybe you folks want everything on your phone, which is fine, each to their own; it just seems a bit greedy to me. 5-10 years from now, you'll be able to do that. right now, you can't reasonably. just accept that and pick up a 64 gig ipod touch on ebay that's a couple years old for $100 bucks and carry it in your purse (and if you're a guy, and whining about needing 16+ gigs of storage on your phone, get a purse. you can keep some tissues in there too). ;)

[joemd60]

Allot of WP7 devices (even newer ones) seem to be stuck with 16GB storage - which is a dissapointment. However, the main question is really about how much storage you actually need.

If your music collection is more than 16GB, or even if it isn't but is going to be large enough to leave you without much space left for anything else - then maybe the lack of 32 or 64 GB storage options is going to be a deal breaker for you.

It's probably a good idea to look at what else you want to store on the phone besides music too. I for example currently sync around 7GB of photos onto my iPhone (planning to move to WP7 when the Lumia 800 is released) - but with Skydrive I can keep that in my online storage rather than having it on the handset - so I'll save some space there right away.

So - take a look at what you're storing, what you really need, and whether or not it all needs to be on the device.

That's why I have a Flikr and Picasa account. The beauty is that there is an app for both to view all your photos from your device. The only drawback to both apps including Skydrive, is if you want to share a photo from from your device.
It has to be saved to your phone, which that to isn't really such a big deal. Since you can delete it if you have to.
While see some peoples point on the lack of storge space, it's not really a deal breaker for me.I am going to CA. in May, and I doubt I would want to keep all the photos I take on my device.

[lumic]

I think 16 is enough. I'll probably have 1-2 gigs left over, but I won't be cramped up. Having 32GB should definitely be an option, since I'm sure that some are much bigger multimedia junkies than I am.

My issue is with the fact that 8GB phones are still there. It's only a problem because apps have no way of being backed up - I either keep my expansive game library on the device and start to cut down on music which I still enjoy, or get rid of game saves (and regret it later on).

With the cheap phones, put 16GB microSDs inside. I honestly could not care about loading times when I could get double the storage. Either that, or just PLEASE include a microSD slot, hide it if you must (under the battery or something). Put a huge sticker on it that says "READ MANUAL BEFORE USING".

The fact that you must recommend a first-gen device if someone wants over 16GB of storage is depressing, not to mention that the Focus is very limited in availability on a global scale.

[bpgui]

i guess maybe you folks want everything on your phone, which is fine, each to their own; it just seems a bit greedy to me.

It's greedy to want to be able to do something with WP that we could do with every other major OS?

5-10 years from now, you'll be able to do that. right now, you can't reasonably.

We can reasonably, just not with WP.

just accept that and pick up a 64 gig ipod touch on ebay that's a couple years old for $100 bucks

I want to carry only 1 device, and I don't want Apple or iTunes.

[jalb]

People keep saying the lack of expendable storage is a turn off from Windows Phone devices, but with SkyDrive free 25GB and Zune Pass, why would people need more and expendable memory?

Unless I'm not understanding what Zune Pass is, isn't it like you being able to listen to music anywhere and at anytime from the Music marketplace without having to actually download it? As in, with my Zune Pass, I could load a new device for the first time and go to the Music Marketplace and stream albums without having to download it? If this is what it is, I don't see the need for extra memory (especially if it means it could get manufacturers to be more likely to produce Windows Phones because of lower costs).

The only time I guess this would suck is in an area of bad/no connection with no WiFi (and I also understand a lot of people feel unsafe about cloud services like SkyDrive)

You aren't the only one. When I got my Focus, I never could find an SD card for it, and I was really worried that I would fill up 8 gigs in a heart beat, but I've never even come close. I keep about three to four albums on my phone all the time, but it's never been an issue. I can see that it could become one for people like my wife though. She has like 200 apps on her phone that she swears she actually uses (compared to my fifty-is) and she occasionally goes through spurts where she wants to have movies on there (for traveling or whatever) whereas I am okay with Netflix. Or like, some people want to have 10,000 songs on their iPod all the time. I could never keep that many songs straight, much less feel like I need to be able to listen to one at any moment.

[threed61]

i'm with OP here. i've got about 24 hours worth of music loaded onto my Flash (obv not the best quality....but it's a phone, come on) and still have a gig or two left for apps/photos/etc. that's an 8 gig phone, cut down to around 6 after OS. i do not understand what these people need 25 feature films and their entire music collections on their phone for. get an ipod or an ipad, jeez.

and yes, i also have an ipod. 160 gig, slap full (at high quality, of course). but having SOME stuff on my phone as a backup or whatever, 6 gigs of storage is plenty. i guess maybe you folks want everything on your phone, which is fine, each to their own; it just seems a bit greedy to me. 5-10 years from now, you'll be able to do that. right now, you can't reasonably. just accept that and pick up a 64 gig ipod touch on ebay that's a couple years old for $100 bucks and carry it in your purse (and if you're a guy, and whining about needing 16+ gigs of storage on your phone, get a purse. you can keep some tissues in there too). ;)

Zune pass doesn't work with an ipod or any other music player except Zunes, which are now discontinued, or Windows phone. Streaming isn't a good option for those on limited data plans. If you want to make smart*** comments, at least have all your information straight.

[1jaxstate1]

I only have 8 gig on my Focus and I still have about 2 gigs left. I have about 85% of my music collection on my phone and a ton of games and apps. I'm content. But I know there are people with HUGE music libraries that would smash through 8 gigs on the initial sync.