Windows Phone 7 – Some (Not All) Devices Have Expandable Storage

There seems to have been a flurry of news in the last about the capability of Windows Phone 7 devices particularly with respect to whether or not additional memory can be added to the base memory already present. It seems that some devices make provision for additional storage through the use of microSD cards however there is a catch.

Microsoft allows the storage contained within additional microSD cards to be added to the general pool of memory available to the device. However, this approach means that the microSD card cannot be logically removed from the device without having to do a hard reset on the device. In principle, this means that Windows Phone 7 devices allow for “expandable” storage but not “removable” storage. This explains why microSD card slots are placed under the battery in order to prevent accidental removal whilst the device is powered up.

However, the next problem that may be encountered is that this feature is not  mentioned in the specifications of many of the launch devices. At this stage, the Samsung Focus appears to be the only device that is known to have this capability but it does help improve situations where base models have only 8GB included and you can expand to 40GB with a 32GB microSD card.

So it pays to do some research before you bite the bullet. As I find out more about specific devices I will update this entry.

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