It’s Shit Like This, Android
I have an HTC desire and I really do love it. Well, mostly. I love everything about my phone except the lack of space in phone storage. I had hoped Froyo would end my misery, by allowing me to move apps to the SD card, but it’s only helped a small amount. There’s just not enough app-makers who think it’s important to add App2SD functionality. And given the pitiful amount of memory on my phone, I am really limited to just the apps with App2SD.
I’ve known for a while that it’s really the compulsory Google, HTC and Orange apps that were really eating into my space, so I thought I’d make a spreadsheet to work out where all the space goes. Out of my supposed 120MB remaining after Android OS is installed, this is what I’ve got:
- 17MB which has to be kept free (Otherwise nothing works – data syncs etc)
- 17.75MB for basic data: Basic Contacts, Calendar, Settings, etc.
- 33MB for Google Apps I can’t remove
- 13.4MB for Orange Apps I can’t remove
- 9.2MB for HTC Apps I can’t remove
- 28.5MB is used very quickly if I enable any of the Social Networking features HTC are so proud of (like Facebook and Flickr contacts sync, showing a friend stream of Flickr, Twitter, Facebook contacts, enabling Twitter notifications, etc)
- 1.5MB is left free for new apps (WTF?)
Obviously, I’ve worked out a few tricks. Uninstalling Adobe Flash updates scores you 10MB space. Disabling all the social networking features gets you nearly 30MB back. All in all, I can wrangle about 40MB for new apps that can’t be put on the SD card. But that’s a compromise – I’d really LOVE to be able to use those social networking features. That’s one of the bonuses of having a smartphone!
So, this explains why HTC Desire users bitch and moan when your app is bigger than 200kb and doesn’t have App2SD.
Anyway, after calculating which compulsory apps I used and which I just wish I could get rid of, I was left with these figures:
- 24.25MB Compulsory apps I find useful (Or at least, would find useful If I were using the social networking features)
- 31.35MB Compulsory apps I don’t use and can’t remove (without rooting).
In these compulsory apps, there’s gems from Orange like a Monopoly game demo using 3MB of space which won’t even let me play an entire game all the way through. Also, there’s an Orange app store and Orange Maps – as If the Google versions weren’t enough. In fact, I don’t use any of the Orange apps. Add to this that Orange kindly got me a Froyo update 6 months after everyone else in the world, it leaves me feeling somewhat miffed at Orange for wasting my time and phone space.
From HTC and Google, there’s a 2MB Youtube app (which pre-Froyo was unnecessary since the Youtube Mobile site is so good – why do we need it now?), a 1MB flashlight, a 1MB calculator. All of these have better, smaller alternatives available, but I can’t get rid of the stock versions.
I’m constantly removing apps so I can try new ones. I search for smaller apps and apps with App2SD. I clear my caches and user data regularly. But to think that over 30MB of space is used with apps I just don’t even want is ridiculous. Plus, out of the remaining 25MB of compulsory apps I do use (even if they’re not all essential to me) – not one of them can be moved to the SD card. Why? Oh, they’re probably worried I’ll remove it. Guys, I’ll put it on the SD card if I have a choice. But if I have no choice I might find myself rooting my phone and removing it.
So, Android. A couple of requests:
- Stop letting phone providers add bloatware which can’t be removed.
- Make your own essential apps App2SD!
So, after that rant and a realisation that my idea fix is not likely any time soon, I’m just one step closer to rooting my phone.
Hey Ange,
I suspect you’re confusing phone memory with phone storage.
Phone memory is consumed by running apps, and phone storage is consumed by installed apps, whether they are running or not.
App2SD will help with storage, but not at all with memory. Even if you move an app to SD, running it will still consume the same phone memory.
I just say this because you said “28.5MB is used very quickly if I enable any of the Social Networking features..”. Then again, maybe I’m misunderstanding how the HTC stuff works.. I find it hard to believe that just enabling a twitter feed would use many MB of storage.. but then, sometimes software does work in mysterious, fucked-up ways.
I strongly advise you to just root the phone and install Cyanogen’s mod. You’ll never look back.
Toby
Sorry – I may have used the wrong word, but I do really mean the phone storage. And yes, running the social networking apps means it collects photos and random updates from my friends and uses a hell of a lot of space. After a few days of syncing Facebook, Twitter and Flickr it’ll use up nearly 30MB. For some reason, it’s also kept in data storage (along with my login details) instead of in a cache, so I have to delete all my login details in order to delete random things my friends said ages ago. It also uses an extra 10-20MB if I want to sync my Facebook & Flickr contacts with my Gmail contacts (to give everyone cool photos).
Edit: Yeah, pretty close to rooting. I nearly did it the other day, until I realised there wasn’t a simple package for Tiger. But still, this shouldn’t be my best option. Google’s apps should be smaller and/or App2SD – and they should keep tighter reign on what phone providers can do to their OS before selling it. This is ridiculous!
OK, that’s terrible! I don’t understand why the HTC Desire skimped on internal storage so much then.. I have a Samsung Galaxy S, and I just logged in and ran ‘df’ to check..
It’s the 16GB model, which is *internal storage*, ie. not including an SD card if you insert one.
The 16GB is spread out as roughly 2200 MB for the /system and /data partitions, and then the rest shows up as an “internal SD card” for putting apps2sd and music etc onto..
I used to have an HTC Magic, which has the same 512MB storage as the Desire, but running Cyanogen’s mod, and that always had plenty of space free on it too.
Just root it already. The downsides are none, you can go back to stock for whatever reason and the upsides are huge. Remove bloatware, change cache sizes, auto delete caches at the end of sessions, and much more. There are many ROMs that I am sure you would enjoy and honestly once you see the true capability of your phone, you will be much happier. I recommend a Gingerbread ROM, my little Eris is running CM 7.02 via a ROM created by Workshed on XDA. Made my phone a new one, no kidding.
Also, I agree with what you said about Google. In the beginning I see them bending to the manufacturers and carriers just to get Android out there. Well, it’s out there. Now, Google needs to start demanding that consumers have a choice, on startup, original Android or Custom carrier/manu. skins ala Sense, Motoblur, TouchWIZ etc. Additionally, they need to include bloatware as part of the “choice”. I hate Nascar, I shouldn’t have three apps on my Sprint phone dedicated to that crap. Google needs to take control of their OS before it’s a confusing bloated mess.
Thanks for the cool blog, lotsa good stuff here.
Twistdiff