Treo 650 Has Less Storage Capacity than Expected (Updated)

palmOne's Treo 650 is now available through Sprint, and it will be released by many other wireless carriers in the coming months. While this is an eagerly-awaited smartphone, the first people to receive them have discovered that the Treo 650 can hold fewer applications and files than they expected.

This is the result of the way palmOne's latest devices allocate memory. According to mytreo.net, previous Palm OS models were very efficient about storing data. If, for example, a database entry was only 14 bytes long, it only took up 14 bytes of memory. However, on the Treo 650, the minimum size for such an entry is 512 bytes. This means that the 14-byte entry will take up a full 512 bytes of the Treo 650's memory.

The effect of this is to expand the amount of memory just about every application will require. Tests from users have found that many applications require 25 to 35 percent more memory on a Treo 650 than they do on a Treo 600.

Duplicate Databases

palmOne has written new versions of the standard personal information management (PIM) applications for the Treo 650. These do not use the same databases as the standard PIM applications.

However, because many third-party applications tie in to the standard databases, palmOne includes both the new databases and the original ones on the Treo 650, each with most of the same data.

While this move was necessary in order for the Treo 600 to be able to use PIM applications like DateBk5, it has the effect of using up even more of the Treo 650's memory.

Tungsten T5 Affected, too

The Treo 650 isn't the only recent device from palmOne that uses memory this way. The Tungsten T5, the company's latest high-end handheld, does so as well. It also has the duplicate databases.

However, this is less of an issue on the T5, as it has far more memory than the Treo 650, which has only 23 MB of Storage available to users.

What Can Be Done?

Currently, developers are discussing whether this device could be patched in such a way as to use memory more efficiently, or if its current method is an unavoidable by-product of the non-volatile memory palmOne is now using in its devices.

Update: palmOne has promised to develop a system patch that will make the Treo 650 store files more efficiently. To learn more, read this article.

At least in the short-term, it seems likely that many Treo 650 users will be forced to make greater use of removable memory cards. This smartphone has an SD slot, and the Palm OS allows applications to be run directly from a card.

Fortunately, the prices for SD cards have plummeted in recent months, while getting ever larger in size. For example, SanDisk is offering a 2 GB SD card for only $200.

Thanks to Bruce Chantry for the tip.

Related Links

• palmOne Finally Officially Announces the Treo 650
• Pre-order a Treo 650 Now
• Brighthand Reviews the palmOne Tungsten T5