Why most current/future PPC stuck on 64MB RAM spec ????

[dhatter]

it's depressing to see an increasing trend in most current and future PPCs to have a 64MB RAM / variable size ROM !!

Ok , more RAM needs more battery , but for heavy multi-tasking users ( i don't think I'm alone in opening multiple apps simus. ), it's a must .

most rumored/future PPC next year have more specs like GPS,etc But with that small RAM it will cough before you even started them ..

Do they expect users to spend extra $$$ on an already expensive unit to upgrade RAM ???

Just my 2 cents , Cheers

[burtcom]

I believe that the 64MB "limit" is because of Microsoft's recommendation to manufacturers that having more than this amount of memory will adversely affect the battery life of Windows Mobile 2005 devices. Manufacurers are not likely to question Microsoft, so it seems they are just going with the flow.

Flash ROM is a different matter, of course...

It would be interesting if someone could upgrade the RAM on their WM05 device and tell us how it affects battery life. I personally keep my device plugged into the wall as much as possible, so I would be happy if it would last long enough to last a long flight (say 6 hours?)

[pocketpcadmirer]

there're very few resource hogging apps for ppc..like real pc one doesn't need ram>64 mb..if we go more than that it adversly effects the battery performance.

Scenerio has immensely changed after the 'noble' birth of Windows mobile 2005

Sunny :)

[PetiteFlower]

According to articles that have been posted here, twice as much ram uses twice as much battery. So 128 megs might leave many devices all but unusable when away from home.

[Paragon]

According to articles that have been posted here, twice as much ram uses twice as much battery. So 128 megs might leave many devices all but unusable when away from home.

Actually what this effects is standby time. When a device is *off* the only battery use is to power the RAM, so if a 64mb of RAM device has 6 days of standby time, if you double the RAM you double the power needs, so now you only have 3 days of standby. If your battery is at 50% when you turn it of you are now down to a day and a half. Now increase the RAM to 256mb and you are down to a few hours.

To protect from this happening in devices prior to WM5.0 MS had a 72 hour rule, meaning that a device had to be able to be turned off for 72 hours before loosing power.

Now with persistent storage you don't loose your data, but the battery can still go dry. What good is it if you have saved all your data if you can't access it because the battery is dead? ;)

It's easy to say RAM is cheap, why not put more in, but there is always a tradeoff to be made. It's not so simple.
Dave