Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek


#205637 21-Nov-2016 10:22
Send private message

I have a Moto E 16GB about 2 years old - it's a nice phone - but I keep running out of space! I have a 32GB SD card -  and have very few apps: G maps, Tripit, Skinny, Chrome., Gmail, Tripadvisor, PayMyPark, calculaor, stuff, photos, viber   is all I have at the moment. 

 

But everytime I let apps update I run out of space and have to spend ages scrolling though and uninstalled updates to apps I never use but can't get rid of eg foreign lanuage packs., google movies. 

 

I've been through every app and  tried to set it to install on the SD card - but very few do  (stuff, skinny, viberr, photos are on the SD card now) .

 

I'm seriously over this and need a phone to take to China and Central Asia next year. I'll need offline storage for that as there are offline maps and language apps which would be useful. Plus obviously I'll need to run an VPN At the moment i'm thinking of going to the dark side and buying a 2nd had iPhone 5S with 64GB  

 

My main dislike of Apple has always been the way the  are non-upgradeable in terms of storage - but it seems that basically Androids are also non-upgradeable (except for photo storage and I have a camera for photos) 

 

 

 

What am I missing? 

 

 





I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
shk292
2858 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #1674865 21-Nov-2016 11:08
Send private message

To be fair on Android, you have a phone which was bargain-basement two years ago and probably retailed for 25% of the iPhone 5s's price, so it's hardly surprising that it i struggling now

 

I would have thought any mid-range Android will give you a huge upgrade over the Moto E - how about a VF Smart Ultra 7?  Personally I couldn't handle the tiny screen of the 5s




richms
28198 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1674876 21-Nov-2016 11:21
Send private message

That is the problem with all cheap android phones. Worse is how many partition their space into 2, and then the SD card is a third space, so the "phone" one fills up really quickly but you still have 4 gigs of the phones own memory sitting unused other than a few photos.





Richard rich.ms

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1674881 21-Nov-2016 11:26
Send private message

shk292:

 

To be fair on Android, you have a phone which was bargain-basement two years ago and probably retailed for 25% of the iPhone 5s's price, so it's hardly surprising that it i struggling now

 

I would have thought any mid-range Android will give you a huge upgrade over the Moto E - how about a VF Smart Ultra 7?  Personally I couldn't handle the tiny screen of the 5s

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't bargain basement - it was about the same price as the VF Smart -  $270 or $280 from memory.  Bargain basement is under $100 in my world.  That phone also seems only available locked to Vodafone - that won't work because a) I travel and b) I have lousy reception from Voda at home. 





I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz



lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1674885 21-Nov-2016 11:28
Send private message

richms:

 

That is the problem with all cheap android phones. Worse is how many partition their space into 2, and then the SD card is a third space, so the "phone" one fills up really quickly but you still have 4 gigs of the phones own memory sitting unused other than a few photos.

 

 

 

So you are saying this is an issue with the phone rather than Android? I bought the moto specifically because it's known to be running a "pure" form of Android without a whole lot of bloatware from the manufacturer. 

 

Can you point me to to a phone which will allow me to install say Google Maps on the SD drive? 





I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

shk292
2858 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #1674893 21-Nov-2016 11:44
Send private message

lissie:

 

It wasn't bargain basement - it was about the same price as the VF Smart -  $270 or $280 from memory.  Bargain basement is under $100 in my world.  That phone also seems only available locked to Vodafone - that won't work because a) I travel and b) I have lousy reception from Voda at home. 

 

 

Moto E was always an "entry level" phone; it was priced below the Moto G which in itself was a beudget phone, albeit a very good one which matched most mid-level phones.  Semantics aside, it was a cheap phone; I would class sub-$100 phones as "toys".

 

The Smart Ultra isn't locked to VF; only their really cheap ones are.  That obviously doesn't help with reception at your house though.  However, it was just an example based on my experience that this is a really good phone for <$300, I am sure there are others out there with similar VFM, that will work on Spark.


richms
28198 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1674894 21-Nov-2016 11:45
Send private message

Its generally up to the app if it will go on the SD or secondary storage or not.





Richard rich.ms

richms
28198 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1674897 21-Nov-2016 11:48
Send private message

Under $100 is the disposable burner phone territory. $300 gets you a lot more phone than it did a few years ago, and it seems the trend of splitting storage up has gone away. From what I understand doing that made it easier for phones to do over the air upgrades with older android versions, not sure how true that is tho.

 

A 2 year old phone is basically due for replacement anyway.





Richard rich.ms

 
 
 

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).
Yabanize
2350 posts

Uber Geek


  #1674905 21-Nov-2016 11:58
Send private message

Yeah, Whether apps can go on the SD card is up to the app developer, and not many bother with it.

 

Unfortunately it's really only good for pictures, videos and music.

 

I don't think you will regret getting an iPhone, it just takes a bit of getting used to.

 

Apart from that, one of the best Android's at the moment for a nice lowish price is

 

Meizu M3 Note, 5.5", 3gb ram, 32gb storage, good battery, fingerprint, octa core, 13mp rear, 5mp front


lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1674906 21-Nov-2016 11:58
Send private message

shk292:

 

lissie:

 

It wasn't bargain basement - it was about the same price as the VF Smart -  $270 or $280 from memory.  Bargain basement is under $100 in my world.  That phone also seems only available locked to Vodafone - that won't work because a) I travel and b) I have lousy reception from Voda at home. 

 

 

Moto E was always an "entry level" phone; it was priced below the Moto G which in itself was a beudget phone, albeit a very good one which matched most mid-level phones.  Semantics aside, it was a cheap phone; I would class sub-$100 phones as "toys".

 

The Smart Ultra isn't locked to VF; only their really cheap ones are.  That obviously doesn't help with reception at your house though.  However, it was just an example based on my experience that this is a really good phone for <$300, I am sure there are others out there with similar VFM, that will work on Spark.

 

 

 

 

 

Just to clarify - I travel - hopefully away 3 months next year. I would never buy any phone ios or android which was locked to a  network! Indeed you've reminded me of  one of the negatives of iPhones -they don't seem to do dual sims - the moto worked flawlessly with 2 sims in Vietnam this year 





I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1674914 21-Nov-2016 12:06
Send private message

Yabanize:

 

Yeah, Whether apps can go on the SD card is up to the app developer, and not many bother with it.

 

Unfortunately it's really only good for pictures, videos and music.

 

I don't think you will regret getting an iPhone, it just takes a bit of getting used to.

 

Apart from that, one of the best Android's at the moment for a nice lowish price is

 

Meizu M3 Note, 5.5", 3gb ram, 32gb storage, good battery, fingerprint, octa core, 13mp rear, 5mp front

 

 

 

I was starting to fear that - thanks for confirming 

 

That looks like a good phone - has the dual sim too. I need to research more the space I'll need for offline maps and google translate -  I have a feeling I need more the 32GB for those 2. 





I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

richms
28198 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1674930 21-Nov-2016 12:29
Send private message

Dual sim is a problem as there are still many where the second sim is only ever active on a 2G network, and those are going away around most of the world for casual users real soon. Will be better in 3rd world places where they are not so focused on refarming to use 4G, and if its roaming there is a good chance that there will be a network catering to the holdouts in most places for a while.

 

There are a few out now that do 3g + 4G simultaneously.

 

 





Richard rich.ms

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1674933 21-Nov-2016 12:34
Send private message

richms:

 

Dual sim is a problem as there are still many where the second sim is only ever active on a 2G network, and those are going away around most of the world for casual users real soon. Will be better in 3rd world places where they are not so focused on refarming to use 4G, and if its roaming there is a good chance that there will be a network catering to the holdouts in most places for a while.

 

There are a few out now that do 3g + 4G simultaneously.

 

 

 

 

Yeah I know but in Asia it works perfectly - you set the NZ sim to secondary for voice and text and use the local SIM for data. You stay in contact for emergencies (I don't reply I call back the number using Viberr if required) without paying roaming fees. Data is dirt cheap in Asia- I think we paid about $20 in Vietnam for more data than I could use in 3 weeks 





I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

allio
885 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1675366 22-Nov-2016 09:26
Send private message

Are you using the 'Internal storage' mode for SD cards introduced in Android 6.0?


lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1675395 22-Nov-2016 10:20
Send private message

allio:

 

Are you using the 'Internal storage' mode for SD cards introduced in Android 6.0?

 

 

 

 

 

No never heard of it - googling now! Thanks 





I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

old3eyes
9120 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

  #1675405 22-Nov-2016 10:44
Send private message

richms:

 

That is the problem with all cheap android phones. Worse is how many partition their space into 2, and then the SD card is a third space, so the "phone" one fills up really quickly but you still have 4 gigs of the phones own memory sitting unused other than a few photos.

 

 

Same applies to cheap Android tablets as well.  





Regards,

Old3eyes


 1 | 2
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.