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Are you OK with the lack of memory expansion slot trend of flagship phones?

posted by Daniel P. / Mar 28, 2012, 7:52 AM

Are you OK with the lack of memory expansion slot trend of flagship phones?

Apple has been doing it for a while now with its iPhone editions, but recently most major phone manufacturers outed or will have flagship models without microSD card slots.

In the slideshow below we have listed some major handsets that force you to make do without more memory than their makers supplied internally, and upon making it we realized that this is getting epidemic now.

That is why we wanted to ask if you approve this obvious trend, and to what extent the good ol' memory card can be swapped for the newly-minted cloud storage services most major smartphone manufacturers are now trying to make us stomach.

Is it all an evil plot to make us sign up for cloud storage and tied up even further in the respective mobile ecosystem, so that we never leave, or is it just for cost-cutting/space saving reasons? Fill in our poll below and sound off your arguments in the comment section.

Are you OK with the lack of memory expansion slot trend of flagship phones?

No biggie, 16/32GB locally are more than enough for me

25.85%

With the new cloud storage services, the lack of memory card slot is irrelevant

6.03%

I'm a digital hoarder, so I need all the space I can get, both online and offline

25.97%

I'll never buy a phone without memory card slot, more so since I don't use the cloud for privacy reasons

42.15%

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65 Comments

1. LahiruRD

Posts: 8; Member since: Mar 24, 2012

Sony also offers 50GB Cloud storage via BOX :)

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 7:53 AM 3

8. Daniel.P

Posts: 127; Member since: Jul 14, 2011

Is this still working? It was supposed to be a one-time promo by the end of December...

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:08 AM 1

10. the_s2

Posts: 239; Member since: Nov 22, 2011

Yeah it still works!

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:10 AM 2

14. Daniel.P

Thx, added.

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:19 AM 1

29. Aaron_R96 unregistered

Oh? Is this available on the Tablet S and Xperia S? If so, how do I get it? Thanks!

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 10:35 AM 1

39. RamyRamz69

Posts: 390; Member since: Dec 12, 2011

Download the Box application then register and you will get the free 50 GB :) I think it only works with the Xperia phones though, but I am not sure. I have a SEX Arc and Sony Tablet S and I just use the account I made on my Arc.

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 11:41 AM 1

42. bayusuputra

Posts: 963; Member since: Feb 12, 2012

it works with my Desire S.. i think it's for all android, but for a limited time.. idk about SE or Sony, though.. they may have it continually.. So, if i get the One X, i will have 32 GB onboard, 25 GB dropbox, 50 GB Box.. So, yeah, 107GB.. more than enough.. too much, probably, for me.. i don't think i will ever use up the 32 GB onboard, let alone the cloud storage.. and if Google Drive really kicks off, i don't know how many more GB it will have in total..

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 12:19 PM 0

60. RamyRamz69

Not really...the 50GB offer for all Android finished on March 23Rd Sorry mate :/

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 10:53 PM 1

2. PimpStrong

Posts: 310; Member since: Jul 25, 2011

There's a huge difference between 16 and 32 gigabytes... 16 for me is not enough at all where as 32 is more than I need.

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 7:58 AM 4

3. arcq12

Posts: 733; Member since: Oct 13, 2011

SD cards is important to me for file transferring concers. I don't wanna bring my USB cable always. lol

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 7:58 AM 8

34. GALAXY-S

Posts: 701; Member since: Jun 07, 2011

yup thats also my main issue.. i like to be able to just put the sd card in the computer and goo .. its great cuz i can do it in any computer

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 10:57 AM 2

4. andro.

Posts: 1999; Member since: Sep 16, 2011

I personally wouldn't use cloud storage but we have seen instore alarming data limit usage rises and battery drainage from people using cloud storage,especially the icloud for instance as most people have it turned on and not know its running

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 7:58 AM 6

43. bayusuputra

yeah, i think the problem with cloud is that it uses up too much data, especially if you turn on the instant upload, and it's quite slow and expensive if you are using Network Data.. So it's better if storage providers start to tell users their options and how to manage the storage so as to reduce battery and data drain.. i personally only sync when there is wifi available.. and that's usually when i am home, so charging port is always available too.. i save up my data only to download important stuff on the go..

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 12:23 PM 1

5. the_s2

I'll never buy a phone without memory card slot, more so since I don't use the cloud for privacy reasons. SD cards shouldnt be killed. There's nothing more reliable than physical storage.

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:01 AM 13

6. android_hitman unregistered

i like SD cards, i don't want to be limited.. + i don't like cloud storage

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:03 AM 12

19. SuperAndroidEvo

Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011

Me too, if your stuff is in the cloud, it's really not yours. You are at the mercy of the cloud. So if the cloud ever goes down, all your pics, music, books & everything else is lost. You essentially would be sh*t out of luck! MicroSD cards are coming down in prices daily, & 32GB MicroSD cards are now fairly priced (there are great deals out there if you look online) There are now 64GB cards available also. Still expensive but they are out there. I am 100% with android_hitman "i like SD cards, i don't want to be limited.. + i don't like cloud storage".

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:33 AM 8

31. NexusKoolaid

Posts: 493; Member since: Oct 24, 2011

Another problem is when you can access the cloud you're at the mercy of the data caps imposed by your carrier. Public Wifi, when available, isn't always the best idea as far as security goes.

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 10:41 AM 4

35. SuperAndroidEvo

You are right, there are so many reasons why the cloud is really not that great of an option. I was going to list those also but then it would have become an essay! lol +1 for you!

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 11:04 AM 4

7. ajac09

Posts: 1482; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

hell no I have a 32gig card I dont want to just throw away

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:03 AM 5

9. PAPINYC

Posts: 2315; Member since: Jul 30, 2011

I would never buy a smartphone without memory expansion both because I am a memory hoarder and I would not use Cloud Storage for privacy concerns; I would also never want to be at the mercy of ever-changing policies of Cloud Storage guidelines and rules. If I wanted a phone with liMiTations, iWould have bought an iPhone a long time ago.

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:10 AM 8

41. bucky

Posts: 3795; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

or half of the new android phones coming out nowadays. difference is apple seems to make it a bit easier to access that storage and offers a 64gb model.

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 12:00 PM 0

11. frydaexiii

Posts: 1476; Member since: Dec 01, 2011

No, the lack of memory card slot is the main reason I will never buy an iPhone and also the reason I didn't buy the GNex. Buying a SD card is cheaper than buying the phone with more onboard storage. I don't like to rely on network based storage like iCloud or some s**t like that, makes my phone useless when I'm disconnected

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:12 AM 3

51. phoenixpr

Posts: 167; Member since: Mar 28, 2012

This is crazy, my dream phone HTC One X, I will have to past, because one big reason I never bought an iPhone is because it has no removable battery an expansion slot. Even though I have everything MAC, but I'm a Fandroid. However if this is a trend and I see nothing compatible to the Google Nexus or HTC One X, I will gladly jump onto the iPhone s**tty bandwagon if this is the way it's gonna be. This SUCKS BIG TIME!!!!

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 2:56 PM 1

12. bigdawg23

Posts: 467; Member since: May 25, 2011

I owned a iPhone for a short time and that was my biggest issue, no sd slot. I had to pull content off my 16GB phone all the time. I had no interest paying the increased price tag for just storage. Now with my Vivid, I will be getting a 32GB card. My job requires a lot of picture taking so it fills up a lot of my space

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:16 AM 2

13. rg987

Posts: 130; Member since: Dec 29, 2011

to buy a phone with no sd card, for me its NAY AND NEVER

15. ryq24

Posts: 876; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

what happen when the phone goes crazy. cloud is still new and unproven. i prefer a phone with sd card. damn you apple for staring this trend! :-)

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:26 AM 2

18. protozeloz

Posts: 5396; Member since: Sep 16, 2010

cloud does OK for me, I have 50GB on drop box and 50 on Box for my stuff, and my music is on Google Music, and my Pictures on + I can schedule backups of all my apps to the cloud overnight in case of a loss. quite nice

posted on Mar 28, 2012, 8:30 AM 0

52. phoenixpr

I look at it this why, if these company wanna follow crapy iPhone trend, Oh I will to do this, but because I own every MAC except an iPhone. I'm all android, however if this crap is a trend, I am going to jump onto the iPhone crap bandwagon. I'm sure I'm will not be the only one.