[ubizmo]

I now have a Samsung Galaxy Blaze 4G that I picked up slightly used on eBay. This is my third foray into Android. The other tries were unsuccessful due to poor battery life. I chose the Blaze because the 1750 mAh battery is pretty strong in relation to the specs of the phone, which is a good combination. And reviews are generally favorable with respect to battery life. Now that I've had the Blaze for a few days, I can say that battery life is decent; I generally don't have to charge more than once a day.

I funded this experiment by selling my HTC Radar WP device. I liked the Metro UI, but I've found that there is a comparable skin for Android. In fact, there are several. I'm using Launcher 7, and I like it. I especially like the ability to filter apps out of the main app list.

I'm using Swype, which I've used before, and I have no real problems with it. My text entry speed is comparable to what I can do with my 9900 (which I'm not getting rid of; just giving it a holiday) with auto-text. I don't like tapping on virtual keyboards but the "cursive" style of Swype feels fairly natural to me.

I have a question, though. I asked this on an Android forum and didn't get a reply that I understood. I have a 16 GB micro-SD card. The device also has 1.4 GB of "USB storage", which it represents in its file system (according to Astro) as "/mnt/sdcard". It seems to be parking most files, such as downloaded Kindle books, podcasts, and photos, in that 1.4 BG storage space and not using the 16 GB card at all, except for whatever music I've transferred to it manually, which it finds and plays without problem.

It seems to me that there should be a setting, as there is on BB, to save stuff to the external SD card instead of this internal one, but I can't find any such setting. Am I thinking about this the wrong way?

[byul]

On blackberry all the applicications are stored on the device itself and can't be saved on a memory sd card.
There is a option on the blackberry to let you save your files on the device or the sd memory card.
Not sure on androids though. But i guess you have no problems with files you transferred to your sd memory card using the pc?

[ubizmo]

On blackberry all the applicications are stored on the device itself and can't be saved on a memory sd card.
There is a option on the blackberry to let you save your files on the device or the sd memory card.
Not sure on androids though. But i guess you have no problems with files you transferred to your sd memory card using the pc?

Yes, that's right. I can transfer files to the SD card without any problem. I'm not trying to move the apps themselves to the SD card, but I'd like the apps to put their data there. On my BB, the Kindle app, Podcast app, Audible app, camera and video apps all put their files on the SD card. This isn't happening on the Blaze, and I'm not sure whether there's anything I can do about it.

I don't really understand why this internal storage is showing up as "/mnt/sdcard" anyway.

[pantlesspenguin]

Settings - SD & phone storage. Scroll down to phone storage. Select "Make More Space." Choose either option to clear the rarely used apps or all apps cache. After that you'll be prompted to move apps to SD card. Chose that option, and select the apps you want to move. For photos - open the camera and hit your menu button. Your settings menu will pop up. Go to the storage option and select either phone storage or storage card.

These are the options on my HTC phone. I wish I had my Fascinate handy to see if those are the same exact options that Sammy has!

[ubizmo]

Settings - SD & phone storage. Scroll down to phone storage. Select "Make More Space." Choose either option to clear the rarely used apps or all apps cache. After that you'll be prompted to move apps to SD card. Chose that option, and select the apps you want to move. For photos - open the camera and hit your menu button. Your settings menu will pop up. Go to the storage option and select either phone storage or storage card.

These are the options on my HTC phone. I wish I had my Fascinate handy to see if those are the same exact options that Sammy has!

Unfortunately, they're not the same. There's no "SD & Phone Storage", only "Storage". And there's no "Make More Space" option, but I did find that camera option, which I'd missed before. I can supposedly move apps to the SD card but it doesn't really happen, because it's treating this internal 1.4 GB space as the SD card, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about that.

So, for example, I moved the Audible app, which downloads very large files, to the SD card, but it's not on the actual 14 GB card that I installed (formatted and mounted).

[pantlesspenguin]

Unfortunately, they're not the same. There's no "SD & Phone Storage", only "Storage". And there's no "Make More Space" option, but I did find that camera option, which I'd missed before. I can supposedly move apps to the SD card but it doesn't really happen, because it's treating this internal 1.4 GB space as the SD card, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about that.

So, for example, I moved the Audible app, which downloads very large files, to the SD card, but it's not on the actual 14 GB card that I installed (formatted and mounted).

Dang. I assume you've done some digging in that Storage option to see if you can find a way to transfer apps to sd card?

[ubizmo]

Dang. I assume you've done some digging in that Storage option to see if you can find a way to transfer apps to sd card?

Yes but it only uses that 1.4 GB internal virtual drive, or whatever it is. There doesn't seem to be any way to park the apps or there data on the card that's in the slot.

I have no idea if this is just a Samsung thing or I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.

[ubizmo]

For the record, the Storage item in Settings shows three areas: SD Card (14.83 GB), USB Storage (1.4 GB), and System Storage (769 MB available).

If, however, I start up Astro file manager, it takes me to /mnt/sdcard, which seems to be its name for what's called USB Storage. To browse the actual SD card, I have to go to /mnt/sdcard/external_sd, where I've put some music.

If I connect to the computer via USB, it gives me two mass storage drives, one for each of these two storage areas.

To make things even more confusing, Astro shows a directory called /sdcard, which appears to be exactly the same as /mnt/sdcard, aka USB Storage.

In short, I have no idea what's going on.


So, when I go into Applications and attempt to move an app to SD Card, it puts it in /mnt/sdcard, not /mnt/sdcard/external_sd.

[Rickroller]

In short, I have no idea what's going on.


So, when I go into Applications and attempt to move an app to SD Card, it puts it in /mnt/sdcard, not /mnt/sdcard/external_sd.

Have you tried moving the apps to /mnt/sdcard/external_sd ?

Calling the external memory card as /mnt/sdcard/external is quite common, as my Atrix was set up similiar..although I never had any problems moving things to it.

Is the sdcard mounted? You could always try going into Settings and unmounting and re-mounting it just to see if alls good.

Otherwise short of rooting and installing a custom rom, maybe try the app ZDbox. It should allow you to move apps to sd, and the app itself doesn't require root.

[thebignewt]

When you connect to a PC via USB you have to unmount the SD card (from the phone) in order to see what's in it and to move stuff to it. But you have to remount it in order for the phone to use it again after you disconnect the wire.

[Chrisy]

Have you tried coming back to BlackBerry? That may solve your Android issues.

[ubizmo]

Have you tried coming back to BlackBerry? That may solve your Android issues.

Oh I haven't really left. My 9900 is right here, and it's not going anywhere. I'm just exploring.

[reeneebob]

Someone may have answered already (and go back to BB isn't really an answer but anyway), but my old SGS had the options under Settings-Applications (or manage applications). When you went into each application where you had the option to force close, there was a button to "move to sd card" if it was allowed to be operated from the SD card.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

[ubizmo]

When you went into each application where you had the option to force close, there was a button to "move to sd card" if it was allowed to be operated from the SD card.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

Yes, that option is there but it moves the app to the virtual SD card rather than the actual external card.

[reeneebob]

It almost sounds like something is wrong with the sd card? Have you tried another smaller card?

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

[ubizmo]

It almost sounds like something is wrong with the sd card? Have you tried another smaller card?

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

I have, with the same result. And the card works fine for holding music and my custom ringtone and notification files.

Strange.

[reeneebob]

I have, with the same result. And the card works fine for holding music and my custom ringtone and notification files.

Strange.

I agree. I don't know what else to suggest.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

[ubizmo]

I agree. I don't know what else to suggest.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

I've tried other forums and nobody else has thought of an answer yet either, apart from rooting and installing a new ROM (and I don't think there are any new ROMs for the Blaze yet anyway).

I think it's not going to be a real problem, though. 1.4 GB is quite a lot of space to store apps and photos and Kindle books, and even audiobooks and podcasts. As a general thing, photos are soon moved off the device anyway. The only way I might get into trouble is if I were to shoot some lengthy video. It's just very odd to me that the device is set up this way.

Getting back to more general observations about Android and this device in particular, I'm finding the speaker as good as the 9900 for listening to audio without headphones. The HTC Radar wasn't as good, so this is a welcome difference from that. That's a hardware issue, of course, but an important one for anybody who uses the device in this way.

The BB Tapatalk app is better than the Android one. The Android app has no button to check threads I've participated in; the BB app has that. Most annoyingly, the Android app doesn't allow selection of text when replying, except for selecting either "word" or "all". That is, you can't choose a portion of text to remove from quoted text. You must either leave it all or use the backspace key to remove some.

Obviously, that's a developer/app issue but it's a counterexample to the claim that apps are always better on other platforms than they are on the BB.

Otherwise, I'm enjoying the Blaze. The Kindle app, which really is better on Android, was one of my main reasons for getting the phone, and I really like having the ability to highlight and create notes. Swype is working fine for me, although I miss the ability to hit the space bar twice to get a period/full stop. Battery life, given my usage, is about 21 hours to a charge, which is comparable to my 9900.

The 9900 does automatic screen brightness adjustments better. I set the screen to 10 and it only gets brighter when needed, as in direct sunlight. On the Android, if I use auto brightness, the default indoor setting is brighter than I want, and harder on the battery. So it's necessary to use one of the brightness apps/widgets available, to toggle back and forth. I tried Lux, a replacement smart brightness controller, but I found that the app itself was using more power than it was saving.

It's still less than a week that I've had the Blaze. I'm sure I'll have more observations in the coming days. Switching back and forth between it and the 9900 requires calling T-mobile to change the data plan. With the HTC Radar I didn't have to do that; I just had to move the SIM.

[reeneebob]

You should see the Apple Tapatalk. It smokes the Android version and makes the BB version look like it was coded by kindergartners. The BB one is painful in comparison.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

[omniusovermind]

The BB Tapatalk app is better than the Android one. The Android app has no button to check threads I've participated in; the BB app has that.

The very first screen you get to in a Tapatalk forum. You should see several tabs along the top bar called Latest - Forums - Favorites - PM - More

By default you should be at "Latest" and that's where you'll find Unread - All - Participated

If you're not at that screen by default as soon as you enter a Tapatalk forum, make it that way in settings.

Most annoyingly, the Android app doesn't allow selection of text when replying, except for selecting either "word" or "all". That is, you can't choose a portion of text to remove from quoted text. You must either leave it all or use the backspace key to remove some

Choose "all". Once you do that you will see little tabs on either end of the quoted text. You can slide those around to choose what text portion you want to remove using those sliders.

I can't answer your SD card question, that phone seems to have a wierd setup. Any android I've used only uses that small 1-2GB portion just for app installs and nothing else. My phone is a year old and I always get options to keep all my other data on my 16GB internal storage or microSD card

[ubizmo]

The very first screen you get to in a Tapatalk forum. You should see several tabs along the top bar called Latest - Forums - Favorites - PM - More

By default you should be at "Latest" and that's where you'll find Unread - All - Participated

Thank you!

Choose "all". Once you do that you will see little tabs on either end of the quoted text. You can slide those around to choose what text portion you want to remove using those sliders.

Thank you again! I completely missed those tabs.

I can't answer your SD card question, that phone seems to have a wierd setup. Any android I've used only uses that small 1-2GB portion just for app installs and nothing else. My phone is a year old and I always get options to keep all my other data on my 16GB internal storage or microSD card

It doesn't make any sense to me at all. I can't see any reason why the phone would be set up in this way.

[pantlesspenguin]

As of late, T-Mo customer care has been horrendous. It's the main reason I switched to Verizon. However, it might be worth a shot to give them a call and see what they say about how to store items to your card.

[ubizmo]

As of late, T-Mo customer care has been horrendous. It's the main reason I switched to Verizon. However, it might be worth a shot to give them a call and see what they say about how to store items to your card.

I think I'll do that. I see there are a number of "Move to SD" apps in Play Store, but I have a feeling these will all move them to that internal SD too.