Where is the storage?

[Frontline99]

I've been looking to upgrade my HD7 and I am pretty appalled by the lack of storage available across the WP7 range. I was really excited about the Nokia Lumia 900, but it has the same paltry 16gb as the rest of the phones. I am sure that 16gb is going to be good enough for most users, but there is no reason (esp. considering most of them are using SD cards) to not have higher storage options available. I can't even record video on my phone right now because there isn't enough storage available. I delete podcasts as soon as I listen to them, I dump my photos often, I have deleted far more of my music than I wanted to, but still I am full. 16gb just isn't near enough, especially with 16mp cameras and 720p video capture.

The cloud seems like a good solution in theory, but in practice it doesn't cut it.

1. I don't want to listen to random songs. Radio apps are great for discovery, but I like to have a little more control over what I'm hearing.
2. Bandwidth. AT&T caps you at 2gb, T-mobile at 5. 5 is a decent amount of data, but streaming a lot of music will get you there.
3. Battery life. Streaming will suck you dry. I've experienced 3-4 hours of streaming on a full charge.
4. Signal. Even if you're under your bandwidth cap, you're still limited by the availability of the signal. I live in a city with really good coverage. AT&T is good, unless I'm traveling and T-mo (my current provider) is very spotty. There are a lot of markets out there that are even worse off.
5. Time. Uploading photos to Sky drive or facebook every time takes time and again, drains battery

On the official WP7 blog the announcement for the Lumia 900 comments section was filled with people asking the same thing, 'Where is the storage?!'. So if there is an obvious demand for it, (at this early stage, with so few users, I would think those posting would be much more representative of the user base than say iphone commenters) why don't we have it?

So what are your theories for the lack of storage options? What have I overlooked?

 

[HeyCori]

My theory is that manufactures are going with lower storage to keep costs down. That allows companies like Nokia to release the 900 at only $99 on contract and a paltry $449 off contract. It also allows them to quickly enter other markets with phones that are aggressively priced to compete. I'm sure once WP gets more market share there will be more 32GB devices. It wouldn't surprised if a few year end Apollo devices where 32GB.

 

[selfcreation]

the problem now is that WP doesn't support SD cards that well, so OEM's dont add it.


and considering 16G is enough for 90% of people, adding more would UP the price of the phones ( witch they DONT want to do for business reasons )

Wp will support SD cards ( better support ) in the up coming update ( Apollo) this fall.

if not, you can get a Samsung 8G and add a 32G SD card in it.... not sure witch other first GEN phones have SD cards . the FOCUS is the only one i know 100%


honestly i dont see WP going over 16G EVER! but with the SD card support to add en extra 40G+++ your at 56+Gig witch is way good ....

this way it would allow them to keep PHONE cost down , and if you want more you can pay more by buying the cards.

 

[Dave Blake]

I think it boils down to the user experience. I think Microsoft is holding back on additional storage because it impacts to many aspects of the user experience. More memory however you add it (SD card or Internal) will use more battery and slow phone processes. The cloud is what Microsoft is going to use and use to its full potential in an effort to keep the user experience as fast and fluid as possible.

 

[HeyCori]

honestly i dont see WP going over 16G EVER!

Forever? Forever ever? Forever ever?!?







(okay, you probably won't get the reference unless Outkast is really big in your country )

 

[caliborn]

@ Figure 8 Dash:

LMAO!! Good one!!

 

[Frontline99]

I think that the amount of people who are okay with 16gb is more like 80% and I think a significant amount of those would take more if it was available. I think that there are more than enough to make it worth their effort. Also, streaming is a slow process. I dont think it offers ANY advantage at all over on-board, at this time. In the future, things will be different.

 

[theefman]

Probably just down to not enough demand. I've gone from a device with 32GB down to 8GB (6 effectively) and I adjusted to the decreased space but dont really have anything I feel I'm missing but game demos. Majority of average consumers would be happy with 16GB, and the rest looking for more are in the minority.