Windows Phone 7 certified Memory cards available. -_- certified? wtf?

In the above picture, you can see a Windows Phone certified MicroSD card. For $32.

W.T.F. ?

Nokia smartphone users are generally accustomed to expandable memory (for majority of their smartphone handsets at least). One of the things we have taken for granted is the fact that we can take out one card, maybe put it in the card reader or swap with with another and you won’t eff up your handset.

For Windows Phone 7 however, the situation isn’t so pretty. You can’t just take out cards and swap them. Your new card becomes part of one single memory. It can even bugger up your handset. Remember back in November when the Nokia N8 saved the then Engadget Editor’s Windows Phone buggered card?

http://mynokiablog.com/2010/11/16/n8-saves-the-day-formats-josh-topolskys-fried-memory-card/

As we now know, that was just to be the first time Nokia would be saving Windows Phone’s ass. Having said that, I hardly take the memory card out of my N8 (the mass USB transfer is just so much easier to use now. Might have been feasible with older handsets and USB issues). Though it is annoying that you would have to hard reset when swapping cards. That’s right. To insert a new memory card, or to remove a memory card permanently, you have to FORMAT/RESET your phone. Bonkers.

Another thing I find ridiculous is why manufacturers are sticking predominantly to 8GB as minimum mass storage? You get like 5.6GB free as a user. That is so easy to fill up. Dear Microsoft – Don’t you want us buying more of your apps/music etc? I guess I’m talking from a power user’s perspective and this is mostly a manufacturer wanting to save.

If you are a power user and you can find a user accessible memory card (where swapping doesn’t void your warranty) other windows phone users have reported safely using other branded 16GB/32GB cards which work fine. Most likely, you won’t be paying through the nose, as much as 32USD for a memory card of that size in 2011?

I wouldn’t actually mind paying that much just to expand my memory. There’s so little on my Samsung Omnia 7 (which is touted as the EU Focus), but doesn’t have a memory card slot. I have to keep deleting videos/pics. :S

Let’s see how Nokia deals with this.  iPhones don’t even have expandable memory and that’s not been an issue (seeming to be part of Windows Phone’s Mantra – will the masses care? If not, it’s not here yet). Maybe provide us with enough memory to begin with if there’s nothing that can be done to give us user hot-swappable cards.

via Engadget

Oh, oh, here’s clarification of the Windows Phone and Memory Card issues from Samsung:

Windows Phone 7 and microSD Cards

Users are strongly encouraged to review this section carefully before inserting the right type of microSD card into Focus, a Windows Phone 7 device.

Windows Phone 7 does not support freely swapping microSD Cards in and out.

Many commercially available retail microSD cards are not approved for use in Windows Phone 7. Use of unapproved cards may cause performance degradation or device instability including unexpected reset and loss of user data. A microSD card class is not an indication of meeting Windows Phone 7 requirements. Approved cards can be obtained from the manufacturer or Mobile Operator.

Once inserted and properly formatted, the memory card becomes an inseparable part of the phone.

A microSD card inserted into a Windows Phone 7 device and integrated into the device’s file system is intended to be a permanent modification to the device. Once a microSD card has been integrated into a Windows Phone 7 device’s file system, it will no longer be readable or writable on any other devices such as computers, cameras, printers, and so on. This includes an inability to format the microSD card for use in these devices. Improper use (including inserting or removing) of microSD cards on Windows Phone 7 devices may result in one or more of the following:

• System error while powering on the device that prevents the Windows Phone 7 operating system from loading. Note that emergency dialing will function properly.
• Inaccurate reporting of available storage.
• Loss of access to or removal of installed applications.
• Loss of access to or removal of user data/media stored on the microSD card.
• Loss of access to or removal of user data or media stored internally within the Windows Phone 7 device.
• Overall file system performance degradation.
• Device lockup or reset.

Inserting or Removing the Memory Card

To insert or remove a microSD card, you have to reset your phone by using a procedure called a hard reset. FAIL.

There’s more instructions after on the various ways to format/reset your Windows Phone should you simply want to add a memory card or remove one.

I think it may be a good thing majority of first gen Windows Phone handsets don’t have expandable memory – to avoid annoying its user base.

Category: Rant