11-29-2004, 04:00 PM
|
|
Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
|
|
The Eternal Question: How Much RAM Should Your Pocket PC Have?
I sure did ruffle a few feathers last week when I published my rather poorly-worded article :lol: on why I thought it was an OK thing that several new devices were shifting towards offering more ROM instead of more RAM. There were quite a few people that disagreed with me - I haven't been involved in a virtual brawl like that in months! 8O Regardless, it certainly got me thinking about what the needs/expectations are of people in the Pocket PC community.
I'm headed to Mobius 2004 in Seattle next week, where I'll be meeting with people from Microsoft - and hopefully some of them will be product planning people who are the kind of people that talk to the OEMs about hardware requirements. I'd like to go down there knowing what the Pocket PC Thoughts community wants so I can represent your needs (just call me Senator Dunn  ).
So here's the question for everyone: looking at the way you use your Pocket PC in day to day use, how much is the minimum amount of RAM you need to have? Are you fine with 64 MB of RAM, or do you need 128 MB to avoid running out of memory? Or do you have 128 MB and still run out of memory? If you're in the latter group who needs 256 MB, I'm especially interested in hearing about the scenarios in which you run out of memory. Give me some good scenarios to take to Microsoft.
I need to ask everyone to be as honest as possible as well - if you use a 64 MB device and day to day don't have memory problems, please select that (I'm in that camp). I'm sure that the W?BIC! factor makes us all want 256 MB devices, but I want to be as realistic as possible when talking with Microsoft at Mobius.
|
| |
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:06 PM
|
|
Pupil
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 10
|
|
I am not sure where the problem lies, but I have not been able to have BOTH WiFi and Bluetooth running on my HX4705. If adding another 64mB of ram would solve this then that would be good.
|
| |
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:07 PM
|
|
Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
|
|
I install an incredible amount of software to my SD card but even with 64MB in an iPAQ 2215 (which is really ~54MB of "usable" storage) I am still running out of room. My Documents is over 6MB, I have several apps that must run in RAM, I have 6 email accounts set up and Pocket IE's cache is in RAM. It gets tight. I admit I am a power user, but 64MB is just the absolute bare minimum IMHO. 96MB or more would be preferred.
|
| |
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:15 PM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 254
|
|
I install everything possible to storage cards, move almost everything from My Documents to Storage, and even move (certain) system DLL's to storage using a system path trick. I'm still pushing 30MB of storage memory used. I NEED 128 MB of RAM.
|
| |
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:18 PM
|
|
Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
|
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by David Loendorf
I am not sure where the problem lies, but I have not been able to have BOTH WiFi and Bluetooth running on my HX4705. If adding another 64mB of ram would solve this then that would be good. |
That sounds like bad programming to me, because I could do that on my 4150 with no problem...but it's true that 128 MB of RAM would probably compensate for the bad programming. ;-)
|
| |
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:18 PM
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:19 PM
|
|
Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,734
|
|
If the next version of Windows mobile uses RAM only for execution 64Mb would be fine (and I would need a large ROM filestore for my My Documents folder). I would want to have it pre-installed however.
For the current status quo 128Mb is essential, as I use my automatically synchronised My Documents Folder as a kind of backup. I could care less if my apps disappear suddenly, but would not want to lose my Notes and Documents.
Surur
|
| |
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:21 PM
|
|
Pupil
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 11
|
|
When it comes to memory or disk space or clock speed, the old motto always holds true: "If some is good, more is better!"
|
| |
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:28 PM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 211
|
|
I chose 64Mb in the poll because I can get by with that if I have to. I tend to install a lot of software, some of which I may use very rarely. If I find myself running out of memory, I can inevitably find something that I really don't need on my PPC. Having said that, I would buy a 128MB device (or even a 256MB if the price wasn't completely outrageous) over a 64MB device if I could get all the same features.
I just bought the x50v with the recent MSN deal and the only reason I chose it over the HP 4700 is the size. If HP made something close to the size of the x50v with 128MB RAM/VGA/BT/WiFi I would have bought it, even if there was a large difference in price.
|
| |
|
|
|
11-29-2004, 04:31 PM
|
|
Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 70
|
|
128
I voted for at least 128. I have been using the Audiovox 6601 phone edition from Sprint for the last three weeks now. I moved up from a Hitachi G1000 that only had 32 ram, no where near enough.
I have noticed though in the move from 2002 phone edition to 2003 SE phone edition that the program requirements have increased enormously. My G1000 would require at least 10 meg to run and most often 14-15 meg. That is almost half of the 32. I have noticed the 6601 consuming 33-40 meg of ram during use. In this case 64 would be way short. The radios whether phone, wifi or BT seem to increase the need for program memory.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
