Extra Flash storage in mobile devices is a big rip-off

If you take a look on Amazon right now you’ll see that you can buy a 32GB microSDHC for under $20. You can get a 16GB card for under $10. An 8GB card is even less than that. So why are we paying so much extra for on-board storage in our tablets?

The 16GB version of the Nexus 7 costs $50 more than the 8GB version.

The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD is $199 for the 16GB version and $249 for the 32GB version. If we jump up to the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD then it is $299 for the 16GB version and $369 for the 32GB version. For the top of the line 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE you’ll pay $499 for the 32GB version and $599 for the 64GB version.

If you think those markups are extreme just wait for the iPad. The 16GB iPad costs $500, but you’ll pay $600 for the 32GB model and $700 for a 64GB model.

If you’re wondering why none of these devices has a microSD card slot then your answer is clear to see. Just to really rub it in, the price of Flash storage is actually dropping. An analyst at RBC Capital Markets estimated that the memory that Amazon uses costs about 70 cents a gigabyte, while Apple’s memory costs about 40 cents a gigabyte. So 16GB costs Amazon about $11.20 and it costs Apple about $6.40.

Apple does exactly the same thing with the iPhone. The higher the storage, the more you’ll pay, and the more profit Apple makes proportionately. Basically, it seems as if it is viewed, by the aforementioned, as a convenience fee to get a higher amount of storage at an increasingly higher cost per gigabyte.

It’s a straight rip off, pure and simple. Anyone disagree? Sound off in the comments.

Microsoft Xbox One vs Google TV: The war for the living room

by Andrew Grush, 5 hours ago

For the last several decades your living room has largely been controlled by one powerful force: your cable (or satellite) company. This is slowly changing as companies like Apple, Roku and Google work to steal…

Comments

http://twitter.com/Alankrut Alankrut Patel

If you can look over that price, get it. If not get a Nexus 4. I still prefer the design of the Nexus 4
monkeypox69

For $650? No.
- jlczl
  
  If you buy the version from at&t you’re actually pay more for it through the life of your contract. If you buy the version from T-Mobile you’re actually paying more for it outright once you add the tax. Either way the Google Edition is actually cheaper.
  - ryan
    
    You aren’t buying it from att or T-Mobile. You’re buying it outright from Google. Carriers have no say in anything.
    - http://www.facebook.com/joshua.hill.940641 Joshua Hill
      
      I assume @jlczl was referring to the non google edition currently available on contract.
- http://www.facebook.com/danielbelini Daniel Belini
  
  And if I tell you that $650 it’s half of the original version price, here in Brazil?
http://www.facebook.com/apavluck Alex Pavluck

Price doesn’t matter to me. I have a nexus 4 which is cracked and I really like the flip cover design, the camera, and the screen of the s4. I don’t know if it makes sense to buy the at&t model and get the Samsung software or will I just see it as bloatware after coming from nexus and iPhone so wait for the s4 GE. On contract is $400 less. What do you think I should do?
- Oli72
  
  Keep your money. Keep the nexus 4.
Johnathan Katz

It seems like a nice phone, unlocked on top of an unlocked bootloader makes it a fairly formidable foe, but the price point is a little high.
And to be honest I don’t see how the lack of a TouchWiz UI is a bad thing, I’d take stock Android any day.
- David Gonzales
  
  TouchWiz does have those extra software features, and taking it away in effect makes the Galaxy S4 Google Edition less feature-rich, if you get what I’m saying.
http://www.facebook.com/joshua.hill.940641 Joshua Hill

Has expandable storage = not a nexus device.
I can’t understand Googles fear of micro SD cards.

If the nexus 4 had an sd slot I would have bought one. I’ll wait for more details on nexus 5, x phone and keep my fingers crossed.
- William
  
  That one reason has kept me from getting a Nexus device.
- maxfrix
  
  Google wants to store your data and charge you to access it. That is their long term plan.
  - http://www.facebook.com/joshua.hill.940641 Joshua Hill
    
    I suspect it has more to do with how linux and android handle mounting of drives and root access. I don’t doubt Google wants our data in the cloud so they can analyse it.
    
    Charging people to access their data. Thunk about how that sounds to the consumer. There’s no way you can spin that and keep your customer base.
- Kapil
  
  Google said that they did not include micro sd slot to simpify consumer’s life. Micro SD card only creates more confusion. My mother has galaxy grand and often there is confusion on where are the files downloded
  - http://www.facebook.com/joshua.hill.940641 Joshua Hill
    
    I had the same prob finding files before I put an SD card in my phone. Androids file mgmt is just crummy regardless of the inclusion of removable storage.
    - http://www.androidauthority.com/ David Gonzales
      
      I agree, see my comment above.
    - David Gonzales
      
      I agree, see my comment above.
  - http://www.androidauthority.com/ David Gonzales
    
    I believe that’s a problem with the software, in other words something that needs to be addressed on the Android OS itself. It’s like they designed the file system with the express intent of confusing people, if you look at it.
  - vgergo
    
    I never understood this argument. The card slot is just an option. If you don’t put a card in it, your phone is just like one without a slot. Just don’t tell novice users. If they don’t know about it, they won’t use a card in it so they will not be confused. Or warn them, if they put a card in there they should understand what it’s about.
    
    Is it confusing that our phones can be rooted? Would it be better if they could not be? Simmilar thing.
    
    Please give the choice to us.
    - Kapil
      
      Choice is good, and that’s what sets android apart from ios but I think google was right to remove sd slots from nexus devices. If you think what I said was not a proper argument then just think of it as my choice.
  - David Gonzales
    
    I believe that’s a problem with the software, in other words something
    that needs to be addressed on the Android OS itself. It’s like they
    designed the file system with the express intent of confusing people, if
    you look at it.
  - http://www.facebook.com/danielbelini Daniel Belini
    
    Isn’t there any way to make both SD card and internal storage “looks” like only one?
    I don’t know, maybe some kind of RAID. It would be a lot easier for people like Kapil’s mother.
    - Kapil
      
      ya, lol
Ron Rossman Jr

Is ATT really going to sell it SIM unlocked? Knowing ATT and the fact even the cheap ass simple dumb phones without even a camera are SIM locked I find this hard to believe
- Infinite7154
  
  You’re not buying it from AT&T. It’s being sold on Google Play. You can use an AT&T sim but AT&T will have no say so over this one
Stephan H. Wissel

The really interesting question: can a owner of a regular Samsung S4 “sidegrade” to a Samsung S4 nexus edition. I don’t care much about the Wizbang UI and find the amount of control you can exercise lacking in comparison to CyanogenMod which I ran on the S2. With stock-barrel Android S4, a GyanogenMod seems not too far fetched
jayydoggy

So guys help me out here? If I buy the S4 GE will I not have have all cool camera features of touch wize ect? , smart scroll ect?
- Kapil
  
  I think you should buy s4 GE because camera features can be owned through any play store app but no app in play store can ensure timely updates and faster experience.
t

But most software features in S4 are now coming to S3, whats the use of buying google edition unles you are a developer..
- http://www.facebook.com/johnphillip.saayman John-Phillip Saayman
  
  I saw that some of the cool stuff in the camera and so on isn’t coming..
- taz89
  
  Not really you only get things like lock screen widget and expanded notification toggles with the new tw launcher.. You get none of the s4 major stuffs like the new camera and features, no air gesture, hover modes etc… You get none of them social wouldn’t say you are getting the main features of s4 but just the basic 4.2.2 features.
porter86

“Reason not to buy: No TouchWiz features”
I think that’s a reason TO buy, not not to buy!

Looking at a comparison though between the S4 and the HTC One it really is in the S4′s favour – http://versusio.com/en/samsung-galaxy-s4-vs-htc-one

Such a hard choice.. Does the superior design make up for it do you think?
- http://www.androidauthority.com/ David Gonzales
  
  Well design is a matter of taste, so it would be quite difficult to give you a straight recommendation if that’s what you’re going to base your decision on.
- Fuck Apple
  
  Actually most of the things that make the S4 shine are the TouchWiz features, like the finger hovering for example
- David Gonzales
  
  Well design is a matter of taste, so it would be quite difficult to give
  you a straight recommendation if that’s what you’re going to base your
  decision on.
- http://www.facebook.com/danielbelini Daniel Belini
  
  I totally agree with you.
  The worst part of a Samsung phone it´s Samsung’s software, mainly TouchWiz.
http://www.facebook.com/johnphillip.saayman John-Phillip Saayman

Reason I’m not buying, is because all the Samsung stuff is gone. I’d rather take touch wiz then, and get cool stuff like the camera features and air view.
http://www.facebook.com/gadgetgurukesawaal Pratik.

Save 20k and buy lumia 820…watch video on YouTube compared of wp dual and @ndroif okta core s4..