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Use of ROM (Memory) in Android Devices

O

oralover2006

Newbie
hi all,

as I am not allowed to ask it in Android Questions section, I am posting it here.

I am going to ask very basic question regarding ROM in Android Device.

Searched for Android Devices and found as below (different devices):

1) Memory - 1 GB RAM, 4 GB ROM
2) Memory - 1 GB RAM, 8 GB ROM
3) Memory - 1 GB RAM, 16 GB ROM

because of ROM size, prices are different from one another.

Is it just the normal internal memory which they are labeling as ROM, or does it have a different purpose altogether. Because once phone is up and running the OS is loaded in RAM and not ROM.

If OS is installed in ROM, it may occupy 1 or 2 GB, what is the use of remaining space.

1) user can install app of his/her choice
2) app data storage
3) cache / delvik cache
3) anything else

if someone purchase with Memory - 512 MB RAM, 4 GB ROM, what approx Internal Storage he/she will have to install apps?

I would appreciate your help and response :)

Regards.
 
Good analogy. The acronym "ROM" is being misused here (since it is not necessarily read only) but the in Android terms it is generally understood to mean the non-volatile storage space (ie not RAM) no matter the actual technology used to implement it.
 
chanchan05 said:
ROM in this case the internal memory of the phone, where the OS is installed and where you install your apps.

In PC terms, ROM is your internal hard drive.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for reply :)

what I asked (device with 512MB RAM, 4GB ROM) and understand from your reply, I will have more than 512 MB of Internal Storage ... ?
if this is, means I do not have to buy 1GB RAM device as I am not going to install Games but using Skype, Tango, Office Suite, Music / Video Player etc.

please advise.

Regards.
 
RAM doesn't matter when you are looking at amount of memory available for installation. You look at the ROM. RAM just is important on the type of apps you want to run. For example, Subway Surfers will lag at 512MB RAM.

As for how much space you have, it depends on the device. For example, a Samsung phone with 4GB ROM typically has only 2GB left for app storage. On the other hand, a Lenovo phone usually has 2.5GB left.
 
You really want at least 1gb ram nowadays bro. Don't go below that :thumbup:
EDIT I just read what you're gonna use it for and I think 512 will be fine now but who knows what mind blowing software is around the corner...... :thumbup:
 
Calling the internal storage "ROM" is incorrect even in Android terms. The Android use of "ROM" is the collection of system software (OS and system apps) which lives in the /system partition. To an unrooted user this is effectively read only.

But yeah, some shops label the internal storage as ROM to distinguish it from RAM. Abuse of the language by people who don't understand it is common in tech ;)

Remember though that the amount of storage available to you will be less than the quoted number. For one thing, storage manufacturers quote capacities in decimal units (1G = 10^9), but computers actually work in binary (where 1G = 2^10, which is 7.3% larger). So you really have 7% less space than it appears. Then the system software itself will use a chunk of the space, so as you said 4GB will most likely leave you 2.5 GB, but some manufacturers allocate more space for the system software (e.g. a 16GB Galaxy handset will probably have 10GB or less available to the user).
 
as funkylogik said for 1gb RAM at least, I bought Samsung Galaxy Pop SHV-E220S
link for Specifications: www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_pop_shv_e220-5272.php

facing a problem, connected to PC, but it is not showing in notification that Connected Debug Mode ( in Developer Options, USB Debugging Enabled ), how I can solve this problem? I want to use ADB for set install location, when issuing command:
adb devices
this returns
list of devices attached
and nothing else.

can I get help here or another section?

regards.
 
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