Why the limited flash memory?

[HarryT]

I have over 2000 books on my Kindle Voyage and don't experience the slowdown you describe. The only thing that slows down for me as I add more books is, as you'd expect, the time taken for a global search.

[crossi]

Is a global search all that useful? I can see searching from within a book like for the first appearance of a character or similar, but I generally know which book something is in.

[eschwartz]

Now imagine searching through 40 books by the same author, to find out where a vaguely remembered quote came from.


Searching within one book doesn't slow down.

Search indexes do not slow down any non-search part of the ereader.




The only offense global search does against those who do not use it... is a certain amount of disk space used for the indexes. Plus eating battery when engaged in heavy indexing.

[robko]

Originally Posted by crossi

Why do all the ereaders all have such limited flash memory? A16G or higher memory stick is pretty cheap even retail and the 16G sticks are no bigger than the 4G ones so it's not a space issue. Even if most didn't use that much memory how much would it cost to throw it in.

To (horror of horrors) bring this thread back on topic : it's a simple matter of economics. There are obviously a segment of readers that would like bigger memory in their reader. The same argument applies as why many of the bigger companies are phasing out SD card slots: dollars and cents. Even if they could get 16G more memory for $2/unit more than 4G, if they sell 100,000 units that's an extra $200,000 cost. Chances are they aren't going to sell enough extra units to make up the difference in cost. A small extra cost per unit doesn't seem like much until you look at volumes, then it becomes serious dollars.

[pendragginp]

Originally Posted by Apache

It is better to have more space than you need and not need it than to not have enough space and have the need.
Apache

True, grasshopper.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by crossi

Why do all the ereaders all have such limited flash memory?

Because they are designed to meet the needs of typical users, not (ahem) hoarders like me and other folks around here who've been gathering ebooks since the PDA era.

A typical heavy reader (already atypical) might acquire a hundred or two hundred ebooks a year and would take ten years to fill up a 2-4GB ereader. The issue isn't so much the cost of the SD card slot or the bigger flash chip as the fact that 95-99% of buyers (especially of Kindle buyers) would receive no benefit from the feature.

Face it, when it comes to ebooks, we're one-percenters.

[cromag]

Also, it saves money. They provide a little memory so that the ereader could conceivably be used right out of the box, but as long as there's a microSD slot they can leave it up to the customer to get whatever memory he/she needs.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by robko

To (horror of horrors) bring this thread back on topic : it's a simple matter of economics. There are obviously a segment of readers that would like bigger memory in their reader. The same argument applies as why many of the bigger companies are phasing out SD card slots: dollars and cents. Even if they could get 16G more memory for $2/unit more than 4G, if they sell 100,000 units that's an extra $200,000 cost. Chances are they aren't going to sell enough extra units to make up the difference in cost. A small extra cost per unit doesn't seem like much until you look at volumes, then it becomes serious dollars.

SD card slots take board space, require user access.
This creates some issues (besides the cost) for a device that is going for Thinner, Lighter. Glitzier

Openings allow Dirt and Static (requires additional surge clamping devices, which need even more board space)
The SD socket has thickness and needs way more space than Onboard Surface mounted chips

The need to keep a feature in reserve for the next model release.

[GeoffR]

An easy solution that gives the best of both worlds: provide a small amount of internal storage (2G or 4G) to suit the average user, but allow the enthusiast user to upgrade if they want.

My Glo came with 2GB onboard storage, but I have upgraded it to 8GB and have about 2.5GB free. I can upgrade to 32GB if need be, or 64GB if I use the external SD slot too. There is no way I would ever buy an ereader that was limited to 4GB or even 8GB.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Because they are designed to meet the needs of typical users, not (ahem) hoarders like me and other folks around here who've been gathering ebooks since the PDA era.

A typical heavy reader (already atypical) might acquire a hundred or two hundred ebooks a year and would take ten years to fill up a 2-4GB ereader. The issue isn't so much the cost of the SD card slot or the bigger flash chip as the fact that 95-99% of buyers (especially of Kindle buyers) would receive no benefit from the feature.

Face it, when it comes to ebooks, we're one-percenters.

And there is also the fact to consider, that even many many of the heavy readers still don't care, since we have computers and stuff to keep our books on.
Absolute necessity for organization purposes -- calibre rules.


And so an ereader only really needs to store enough books for the foreseeable future (a year or so is more than fair).

I also have a lot of ebooks -- though I can't promise to have been collecting since the PDA era.
But I limit the number of books on my Kindle at any one time.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

An easy solution that gives the best of both worlds: provide a small amount of internal storage (2G or 4G) to suit the average user, but allow the enthusiast user to upgrade if they want.

My Glo came with 2GB onboard storage, but I have upgraded it to 8GB and have about 2.5GB free. I can upgrade to 32GB if need be, or 64GB if I use the external SD slot too. There is no way I would ever buy an ereader that was limited to 4GB or even 8GB.

An SD slot adds Things To Go Wrong, extra parts are not in the design plan.

And replacing the internal memory, while certainly a route for the dedicated, is not exactly an "easy" solution -- few people will be satisfied by that.


None of the options for providing lots of storage are good.

[crossi]

Putting a larger memory in during construction is just a matter of substititing one widget for another during construction, no change in the architecture or software needed. So if the larger memory cost $2 more than the smaller sell the premium line for $40 more and see if customers bite. No need to build a huge number, just buy a thousand larger memory and if they sell, good buy more, if not you haven't lost much.

Not like designing and setting up manufacturing of a whole new line like the phone.

[crankypants]

On my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 I can hook a flash drive to the micro USB port, but I don't know how to unhook it via the OS. With unix, if you just pull off the flash drive, it could scramble your data. They sell an angled micro-usb to USB converter for tablets. They are also making USB drives with a micro USB connection too.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by crankypants

On my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 I can hook a flash drive to the micro USB port, but I don't know how to unhook it via the OS. With unix, if you just pull off the flash drive, it could scramble your data.

Depends on the android version but generally via the storage settings
Settings >> Storage >> Unmount

May also be available from the pull down notification menu.

[DiapDealer]

My library is my PC, my reader is my book bag: my wildly oversized book bag.