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So, You Want More Storage Space...

xinn3r said:
Thank you Stigy! I've been trying to point from the start that USB mass storage and USB Host are different things

USB Mass Storage is confirmed 100% not supported
USB Host still isn't confirmed, because Google says it's supported but it won't work out of the box
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No problem. Just trying to make sure this is clear as day for everyone. I know a lot of people skim and then jump to conclusions so want to lay it all out there for everyone to see and read and understand.

Here is a screenshot of the kernel of the phone -- it definitely exists. Just up to a dev to figure it out now.

screen_20111122_0132.png
 
Stigy said:
No problem. Just trying to make sure this is clear as day for everyone. I know a lot of people skim and then jump to conclusions so want to lay it all out there for everyone to see and read and understand.

Here is a screenshot of the kernel of the phone -- it definitely exists. Just up to a dev to figure it out now.

screen_20111122_0132.png
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Good Job!
Damn, I want this phone so bad.....
I'm in China and it's still haven't been announced yet
 
My question is though... will I be able to play a HQ/HD movie that is hosted on the usb stick? I don't want to get all excited about this and then find that it will only play if I dump it on the GNex first. : \

Anyone try it yet?
 
voice.lex said:
My question is though... will I be able to play a HQ/HD movie that is hosted on the usb stick? I don't want to get all excited about this and then find that it will only play if I dump it on the GNex first. : \

Anyone try it yet?
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No one has successfully mounted a USB volume on the GNex yet, let alone trying to play a video.

Although it should work just fine -- should be same speed as coming off an SDCard in your phone.
 
Paul (at MoDaCo) has figured out USB mounting on the device. I will post details when he updates, but screenshots below (wireless mouse works too)!

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gnmouse.JPG
 
Stigy said:
I just read what I posted and I definitely came off as rude, so let me take a step back and explain why we aren't debating semantics.

The article on reddit from the ICS dev discusses USB Mass Storage mode, which is a protocol that allows a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device to become accessible to a host computing device, to enable file transfers between the two. To the host device, the USB device appears similar to an external hard drive, enabling drag-and-drop file transfers.

The topic at hand in this thread is USB Host Mode or USB On-The-Go (UBS OTG), which is a specification that allows USB devices such as digital audio players or mobile phones to act as a host allowing a USB Flash Drive, mouse, or keyboard to be attached.

The USB Mass Storage mode is not supported because of the lack of SD card in the phone (explained by the ICS dev), this is what is discussed in my USB Mass Storage Mode thread above. The USB OTG mode is something that is currently trying to be figured out over at XDA (my link above from XDA). Phones running 3.1 and higher should support USB OTG (which will allow us to plug flash drives INTO our phone), but for some reason the SGN doesn't seem to support it natively whether its a cable or kernel issue no one is 100% sure yet.
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Hence my point in the first place, my friend: Just because the OS has the features, does not mean the OEM has designed it into their device to work.

That sounds like a lot of non out of box effort to get something to maybe work. Result being, the feature is in the OS, but not supported in the device by the OEM.

Most people that buy the device will never have the function, since rooters and modders are the minority.

BTW, I did not think you were rude.
 
BTW all it needed was a kernel modification (as seen above) to get it to work.

Modders are definitely the minority, but I think people that want to get it work will be happy to know that someone has figured it out.
 
Stigy said:
BTW all it needed was a kernel modification (as seen above) to get it to work.

Modders are definitely the minority, but I think people that want to get it work will be happy to know that someone has figured it out.
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Yes indeed - at least we know the hardware will support it. :)

I don't plan on flashing my phone until the SAVolume problem is sorted, I'm hoping that by then stock ICS will support it (Google has it listed in their specs for the phone), if not I'll go for a custom rom.
 
I don't get why Samsung went this direction with the Nexus. I just tested out the GS2 on T Mobile and loved it and it had a removable SD card and internal mem. Had it up to 48gbs. With everything we (I) put on phones now, pics-movies-pics in HD taken coming,tons of music, what would motivate them to now reduce the amount available? Makes no sense at all. One of the big reasons I jumped on the Razr. I'll check it out when it comes out and if there are other options for storing like what's been discussed here, I'll consider it. But only if it can work. And as one mentioned,with all these companies pushing cloud storage, we are going to have to get back to truly unlimited data plans sooner rather than later. Maybe to a degree that's where Verizon is headed with its doubled data deals going on. Not to mention it's a HUGE draw from other competitors,heh....
 
Sportster said:
I don't get why Samsung went this direction with the Nexus. I just tested out the GS2 on T Mobile and loved it and it had a removable SD card and internal mem. Had it up to 48gbs. With everything we (I) put on phones now, pics-movies-pics in HD taken coming,tons of music, what would motivate them to now reduce the amount available? Makes no sense at all. One of the big reasons I jumped on the Razr. I'll check it out when it comes out and if there are other options for storing like what's been discussed here, I'll consider it. But only if it can work. And as one mentioned,with all these companies pushing cloud storage, we are going to have to get back to truly unlimited data plans sooner rather than later. Maybe to a degree that's where Verizon is headed with its doubled data deals going on. Not to mention it's a HUGE draw from other competitors,heh....
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Google wants a closed system with no microsd or anything else. The end game appears to be cloud storage and a gTunes. Hope I am joking about the gTunes, but not about Android team despising external storage and wanting to force people to remote storage. There are big reason$ for thi$ (emphasis on the $):

1. Data mining and usage habits. They can do a lot of that now, but more absolute when you use their "free" storage. This also prevents us "pesky" consumers from controlling and localizing our own content. Amazon is pioneering that at the moment with the Fire and its butt low storage space and no sd slot.

2. Android wants more control over hardware and managing internal storage is easier than designing for external options.

3. Carriers are banking on people busting their 2gb caps, which a lot more will in a remote storage ecosystem.

Of course a lot appears to be tunnel vision, since the more Google behaves like Apple, the less to differentiate them (not good for Google or OEMs) and the data caps with remote storage, 4G, HD content etc, is destined for the FCC in 2012 (consumer pushback will be fierce). Seems the industry is doing everything they can to cause that train wreck.

The IT folks I work with are telling me a lot of this (we are testing Android and Apple to replace BB) and if you read Android team's posts, you will see their hate for external storage. Were it not for Apple scarfing up flash memory a few years ago and OEMs pushing back now, we would already probably be $crewed with no external storage options.
 
I see Google's dislike (non-preference?) for SD that you do, but not for the same suspicions. Thrity-two GB is an awful lot of space -- the only pitfall being that a device with a 720p screen is begging to have HD content stored to it, which certainly uses up a lot more space than some down-sampled video.

And while there's no arguing that content providers are finally grasping the positive aspects of cloud-based subscription services (Pandora, Netflix) to "physical" media ownership, it doesn't seem to me that Google is in bed with them. Because (1) they's still permitting removable SD cards in Android (just not in their reference design), but also (2) transfers to and from a Win7 PC via a USB cable are drag-and-drop simple.

It seems like the majority of the public is leaning in favor of cloud based storage, for ease of ownership with respect to backing up data and lost/stolen devices. My wife just when through this with her oil-soaked Palm Pre, where nearly everything magically popped up on the replacement device.

I'd bet you a quick poll of phone owners reveals that the vast majority with removable storage never, or very rarely, touch their SD card. So maybe the real spec bump will be to increase built-in memory. In the mean time, if this read/write to external memory works out, it seems like a perfectly adequate compromise.
 
Cloud media streaming will probably fail with consumers in a data capped environment for phone networks, as the install base of unlimited users erodes. That and other streaming services are like oil and water with data caps where they are. Probably a lot of net present value assumptions for carriers are now based on holding fast with low data caps and costumers paying for more data during the year. The financial plan looks a lot more black, thanks to cloud loving, data capped customers (Thank you sir, may I have another!) ;)

Agreed on the storage being plenty for most, but the key is CHOICE. If all devices were like this, that would not be choice. Now, if the Nexus were like Apple and offered a 64gb version, then it would be better.

Added:

My statements in posts are about the industry as a whole and not just Google. Of course carriers love the cloud, since a lot of busted caps means a lot more revenue- until this hits the fan in 2012. The real losers in the industry are the device OEMs, since less inherent options for product differentiation.
 
The_Chief said:
2GB plans turn into 4GB for $30. And on and on. If you're tiered and are considering a phone that relies on the cloud, DO check this out!
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Yeah with verizon offering 4gb of data, and combining that with cloud storage, most people should be OK with 16GB of internal storage. Personally I would just try to make use of Google Music rather than putting the music on my phone. Other than that, I don't really see how you would even need more than 16gb on a phone. My music library on my computer is about 40gb, but I only load 8gb or so onto my phone, but I think google music is offering 20k songs worth of cloud storage right now. I'm thinking about going completely with google music and relying on cloud storage.
 
rushmore said:
Cloud media streaming will probably fail with consumers in a data capped environment for phone networks, as the install base of unlimited users erodes.
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You're probably right. I know some friends who have unlimited data with sprint and they already go up to around 4 - 6gb just from using pandora everyday. I'm gonna give cloud storage a go just for the convenience to not have to sync every time I get new songs. I think the key is to just utilize wifi when u can. I would use a program like setting profiles or smart actions on my droid razr to have wifi on at all times except 8 to 5 when I'm at work.
 
nascar01 said:
There are a few advantages and disadvantages to cloud storage.

Advantages

  • No need for extra hardware (i.e. SD card, thumb drive)
  • Convenient
  • Automatic synchronization
  • Um, I'm sure you guys can think of more, I'm drawing a blank right now :o
Disadvantages

  • Requires constant connection, either via data or wifi
  • Potentially slow over 3G or weak Wifi
  • Streaming movies is difficult, if not impossible (at least with Dropbox, etc.)
  • Eats up a limited data plan quickly
[/spoiler]
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Google Music doesn't require you to have constant connection. You are able to make all of your music available offline. It's awesome I have no need for my ipod anymore
 
With cloud computing you are balancing between two different types of business models, those being wireless carriers and tech companies. The tech companies want cloud computing because it provides them a number of tangible benefits, not the least of which is control. The wireless carriers, on the other hand, are somewhat more skeptical about cloud computing because it requires bandwidth that is in short supply at their cell towers.

The wireless carriers may never be full-on supporters of cloud computing... at least not until they can get fiber optic cable delivered to all of their "connected" cell towers. Most wire-line carriers have copper in the ground but fiber is another story. Adding fiber to existing cable paths is often prohibitively expensive since many cities require that the wire-line carrier improve their infrastructure when they dig up streets to install the new conduit for the fiber. If it were as simple as re-using existing cable paths, fiber to the cell tower would be a lot easier (and less expensive).
 
nascar01 said:
Google Music doesn't require you to have constant connection. You are able to make all of your music available offline. It's awesome I have no need for my ipod anymore
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So it is stored locally? Kind of defers the premise of cloud use, unless you are referring to media juggling/rotating as you need it. My 64GB iPod needs no juggling so prefer it, but seem to appreciate what you mean.
 
rushmore said:
So it is stored locally? Kind of defers the premise of cloud use, unless you are referring to media juggling/rotating as you need it. My 64GB iPod needs no juggling so prefer it, but seem to appreciate what you mean.
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Umm not to sure how it stored. I just know that you don't need wires and it Syncs under your Google account. Whenever I add songs its automatically updates my phone.

Once in Google Music you hit "menu" then select "make available offline" then you can select any albums you want. You get 30 GB. If I had a car with an Aux input I definitely wouldn't be using my ipod but until I get a new car I gotta use it
 
nascar01 said:
Umm not to sure how it stored. I just know that you don't need wires and it Syncs under your Google account. Whenever I add songs its automatically updates my phone.

Once in Google Music you hit "menu" then select "make available offline" then you can select any albums you want. You get 30 GB. If I had a car with an Aux input I definitely wouldn't be using my ipod but until I get a new car I gotta use it
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That is cool, but the point is you need local space to do this. The premise of the thread is extra local space and not what space is in the device already. As far as the Nexus, the space is not just for media, but apps and data as well. As you put more apps on the device, less media space. Most will be fine with the 32gb model, but the cloud will be tested with the 16gb version. Data caps too.

Point still is, if you do not have space on your device, the Google function does not help, since remote storage is feeding the device- if enough space.
 
rushmore said:
That is cool, but the point is you need local space to do this. The premise of the thread is extra local space and not what space is in the device already. As far as the Nexus, the space is not just for media, but apps and data as well. As you put more apps on the device, less media space. Most will be fine with the 32gb model, but the cloud will be tested with the 16gb version. Data caps too.

Point still is, if you do not have space on your device, the Google function does not help, since remote storage is feeding the device- if enough space.
Click to expand...

Google Music takes up 0 storage on your device. Sorry forgot to mention that. 20,000 songs and you don't need space which is amazing.
 
Haven't seen a specific thread for this yet, so hopefully this isn't a repeat. I'm also sure others will have these same questions.

I'm new to both USB Host and MHL, and I was wondering if there's anything to know specifically about either adapters?

Based on what I've read about USB Hosting I need a Micro USB to USB adapter with OTG (whatever that is). I'm assuming the following would work?

Amazon.com: Micro USB Host Cable (OTG Cable) - Xoom, Galaxy S2, Nokia N810 / N900, Toshiba TG01, Archos G9. New Version with more accommodating "L" shaped connector! - Better than Motorola Camera Connection Kit!: Electronics

Now regarding MHL, are all adapters the same? I see a few on Amazon specifying 5-pin Micro USB adapters... is that correct for the Nexus? Also I noticed some require power, is that something that is universal with all MHL adapters? I know that most/all have the ability to plug a phone charger into it, but is that required for all adapters to run?
 
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