What's better: having a micro SD slot or using Cloud services?

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Loie Favre 33
Loie Favre
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Sep 19, 2013, 5:41:37 PM via Website

Micro SD slot vs Cloud Services (like Drive, Box, Dropbox)

I think that many feel pretty strongly that having a micro SD slot is way better than using Cloud services, but why? Cloud services are free while micro SD cards fill up quick and the official ones aren't cheap. That being said, Cloud services involve costs when you want more than the limited amount of storage space, though these costs aren't high, often less than a micro SD card.However, you'll need to have an internet connection using either your mobile data or Wi-Fi to access files from Cloud, be it Google Drive, Box, Dropbox and more.

What's your take on this?

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LadyAdellandra Dratianos 1
LadyAdellandra Dratianos
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Sep 19, 2013, 9:20:49 PM via Website

Truthfully, I use both. I'm building up a collection of MicroSDs and assigning them jobs, such as backup, portable OS, system boot, and so on. I also own a SkyDrive (currently at 50/yr for 100G -- worth it, as it intigrates throughout my PC, Web Office Apps that I can edit in Browser if I'm at a computer that doesn't have Office. and my Kindle Fire HD App. All apps that I can sync with each other. As for Other cloud services, I also use Google Drive, Box, DropBox, and Amazon, just to name the few. I'm a writer, so my writing files are current and backed up on both the PC, MicroSD Card and in the clouds. Just in case the web and microSD cards fail, I also have a CD backup and DVD Backup, So I'm pretty much set.

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Amy R. 13
Amy R.
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Sep 19, 2013, 10:24:30 PM via Website

I prefer to have my things store in my micro sd card in my device. At least I know it's physically there. I was never to keen on the idea of having things stored outside of my device. I have oodles of space in my external storage still so I'm not too concerned.

"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here & So Am I" - FZ

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Kris Carlon 35
Kris Carlon
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Sep 20, 2013, 11:24:09 AM via Website

I'm split on this topic. I had my house burglarized once a while back and my camera, computer, external hard drive (yes, i was stupid enough to keep it in the same place) were all stolen. Losing all my writing, records, pictures and videos sucked, and I wished I had been more cautious or paranoid about possible loss. So I started taking my microSD cards out of my camera when they were full and simply replacing them with new ones, backing everything up to my computer, external hard drive and even burning CDs.

Cloud storage solves all of these problems, but I am still a bit wary, partly because I don't trust the integrity of the cloud in the same way I don't trust a USB drive to stay stable forever - my past is littered with stories of external hard drives that crashed and wiped all my data. Plus, my tin foil hat personality is very wary of delivering all of my personal documents so easily into the hands of the ether. Before you think I'm paranoid, read up about how much the NSA loves cloud storage and you'll understand my misgivings. Everyone is now trying to better encrypt cloud services, so if this works out, perhaps I'll switch from hardware to air, but not before.

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paulc

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John Rosa
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Sep 20, 2013, 2:36:36 PM via App

don't save nothing on the cloud storage is storage server online. any hacker can bypass the security code and than steals your info. not good I recommend to use the microsd on your phone. is a lot of space but it isn't the right thing to do. be careful on what you save there. I personally won't use it, good luck and God Bless and you all have a beautiful weekend.

— modified on Sep 20, 2013, 2:40:43 PM

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Amy R. 13
Amy R.
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Sep 20, 2013, 10:29:41 PM via Website

Just to add in, I am so glad Kris and John said what they did. At least I'm not the only one in this unforgiving world who feels this way.

— modified on Sep 20, 2013, 10:30:43 PM

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My1 37
My1
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Sep 21, 2013, 12:27:16 AM via Website

just a little if story:
IF I Couldnt use microSDs but only rely at cloud storage (no matter how large it is, I had one problem.
I am a person who likes watching videos in the bus, train, during apprenticeship, shortly, almost everywhere.
But I have one problem when going across the Cloud. my HOME Internet has already horrible download speeds
(well no so horrible but sill annoying, example: a 300MB file takes depending on the situation mostly about an hour [just a note: most of my anime Episodes{approx. 20-25 minutes} have about 350MB or more] upload speed is about 1/10 of that)
Upload is REALLY Awful (as said above it's 1/10 of my DL speed resulting in a 300MB file taking up to 10 hours [given a resonable and file size we have a photo from an 8MP Smartphone which is about 2MB, that would take full four minutes each])
and not to forget that we dont have an unlimited data plan for normal users anymore, the unlimited data plans are most probably for business customers and cost quite some money. my plan has 200MB highspeed data which means I can watch 15 minutes of Video and then we have it.



my 64GB microSD is one of the greatest blessings my Note 2 can have (and my other highly used androids have 32GB mSDs

It is completely unreasonable to want the users to move to clouds just by taking out the SD Slot out of the Nexus devices. and even in that case, OTG Adapter and we have it.
I can not say I dont use the cloud, honestly first thing my phone does when it is in WLAN is uploading my pics and screenshots to dropbox (sometimes completely jamming my internet for hours in proccess, espacially during my last berlin trip where I took 328MB worth of pics meaning my internet was jammd for ten hours and after that Play store updated my apps), that has the obvious advantage that the screenshots I need to the forums I can just link and dont have to transfer everything 20 times and such.

in the end, Clouds are something for people with a) a good home internet (like VDSL) and b) unlimited data plans.

— modified on Sep 21, 2013, 12:27:34 AM

MFG/Regards My1

paulc

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David D. 11
David D.
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Sep 21, 2013, 11:48:02 AM via App

Definitely microSD

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David D. 11
David D.
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Sep 21, 2013, 11:50:06 AM via App

Yup. You're right, upload speed is terrible for me too.:-(

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Amy R. 13
Amy R.
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Sep 22, 2013, 12:10:44 AM via Website

Dido, upload speed sucks where I am as well. :(

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lola
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Sep 24, 2013, 8:38:27 PM via App

what is cloud...I have galazy4 barely know how to use it....plz help

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Amy R. 13
Amy R.
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Sep 24, 2013, 11:06:16 PM via Website

Hi lola -_-

"The Cloud" is a little crazy to explain (without using excessive tech talk and insane diagrams). How it works: There are multiple servers who have space reserved nationally and globally and have it spread throughout a ton of networks. This can be utilized in many ways, but mostly as an expansion of memory outside of your device. You can rent Cloud Space for a fee or for free (not including what you might pay out in data cost), depending on who you have an account with. With this, you can save your files, back up your whole system, have entire programs run in the cloud, etc.

Why don't you introduce yourself in "Meet and Greet"? Love to help you in anyway I can :)

— modified on Sep 24, 2013, 11:07:59 PM

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Kris Carlon 35
Kris Carlon
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Sep 25, 2013, 12:32:48 AM via Website

Ok, think I might take my general paranoia and put it to good use. I'll write something shortly along the lines of important security set-up things-to-do (I'll come up with a better title, I promise!) and write something shortly. Rest assured, cloud encryption will be in there!

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Amy R. 13
Amy R.
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Sep 25, 2013, 12:41:39 AM via App

This would be awesome Kris, using the cloud makes me a little (a lot) paranoid too. Love to find a safe way to use it.

"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here & So Am I" - FZ

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Kaloyan Arsenov
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Sep 25, 2013, 12:55:43 PM via App

Cloud data is safe guarantee till the data on your device can always be lost or stolen with the device itself... So think about some cloud data backup I suggest!
P. S. About your worries for cloud safety I suggest to read a bit more before going to get paranoid. It's pretty much safer than you think!

— modified on Sep 25, 2013, 1:02:35 PM

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My1 37
My1
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Sep 25, 2013, 1:04:28 PM via Website

they also said that to SSL (https) but it was still cracked by the NSA...

MFG/Regards My1

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Amy R. 13
Amy R.
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Sep 25, 2013, 10:36:24 PM via Website

That is so true Philip. You also have to consider who you get a cloud account with. If you say google, amazon, or yahoo, you might as well be saying the NSA. They're all in each others pockets. They might as well be hackers, all of them. Prism-break.org has some suggestions but I haven't looked closer into it.

-Hey Kris, how's that cloud encryption thing going?

"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here & So Am I" - FZ

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Amy R. 13
Amy R.
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Sep 25, 2013, 11:10:05 PM via Website

Kaloyan Arsenov
Cloud data is safe guarantee till the data on your device can always be lost or stolen with the device itself... So think about some cloud data backup I suggest!
P. S. About your worries for cloud safety I suggest to read a bit more before going to get paranoid. It's pretty much safer than you think!

I've done a lot more reading into it than you think. As stupid as it sounds, someone stealing my device and my identity is the least of my concerns (they wouldn't get much out of it) . The integrity of the companies who provide the service is the issue. Have you read up on how these businesses solicit your information regardless of what their privacy policy states? Have you read up on how the NSA gets all your information and they build a profile of you to tailor their descriptions? Not by simply looking you up, they have your information freely handed over to them by your internet provider, social media, etc, etc. This is not something new. This has been happening for many years.

-This is why I don't use cloud service.

— modified on Sep 25, 2013, 11:17:49 PM

"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here & So Am I" - FZ

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My1 37
My1
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Sep 26, 2013, 12:44:06 PM via Website

also US Companies seem to HAVE TO give their data to NSA and others by law...

MFG/Regards My1

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Amy R. 13
Amy R.
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Sep 26, 2013, 10:35:38 PM via App

Also true, but a lot of businesses involed have been pushing it even further in order to exploit their customers (use it for their own purposes). There's no need to mention names because they are the ones most commonly used. It appears now that the word "NSA" is also being used as a cover up for shady bussiness practice. I understand what your getting at though. Some of the things I commonly used (like my beloved encrypted email service) was forced to shut down because they refused to freely hand over customer information and email logs. As far as I'm concerned it's none of their damn bussiness. This is not helping to fight against terrorism and it's becoming more apparent every passing day.

"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here & So Am I" - FZ

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Brett Hermance 5
Brett Hermance
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Sep 30, 2013, 7:57:31 AM via Website

WOW:blink:

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Joel W. 11
Joel W.
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Oct 23, 2013, 8:56:21 PM via Website

Well, I have 25 gigs of music and can't trust my limited data plan (plus poor connectivity sometimes) to stream all my tunes from the cloud. I have a 32 gb micro SD card that holds it all. Plus, isn't expandable memory one of the major benefits to an Android device?

--I do a good impression of myself--

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Robert Rollo 6
Robert Rollo
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May 18, 2014, 10:29:23 PM via Website

yes to which do we go. The argument for both is strong, to that end decide for your self. I prefer micro sd. Why because I live in Northumberland. G3?.

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Loie Favre 33
Loie Favre
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May 19, 2014, 10:25:02 AM via Website

I think that this is a really good current issue that many should consider when buying a new smartphone...this conversation got lots of people commenting on our Google+ page. One guy even said:

Micro sd. Cloud storage is insecure, and the NSA has access, whereas a
micro sd can't be looked into by anybody. Physical control of private
data beats a remote server any day!

While someone else said

Both have advantages, but have to have 64gb min sdcard in daily driver
phone

I think the reason Google did this is to promote their own cloud services, like Google Drive. Their official comment on this was that microSD cards are too complicated for most users!! Can you believe that?

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Lalit
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May 19, 2014, 11:00:59 AM via Website

Well, for me it will always be using the cloud services because I can trust on SD card sometimes SD card gets corrupted and if you haven't backup your data its lost. I will not trust with SD card rather than I will trust on the cloud services for backing up my data.

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My1 37
My1
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May 19, 2014, 11:45:51 AM via Website

WTF Really?
Oh my goodness, the only way that's too complicated is that whole "Emulated SDcard" thing for the internal storage from google and the fact that you cannot set a standard storage (e.g. whether it DLs to int. storage or mSD)

MFG/Regards My1

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Brian Lester 3
Brian Lester
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Jun 10, 2014, 1:19:49 PM via Website

Psychologically it is still better for me to have everything stored in a SD card. Even though I know cloud services may be as useful and safe.

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Loie Favre 33
Loie Favre
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Jun 10, 2014, 1:24:00 PM via Website

I know what you mean Brian. Cloud is a good option, but it also has its disadvantages, for example, auto-sync to cloud uses mobile data and more battery.

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My1 37
My1
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Jun 10, 2014, 4:37:04 PM via Website

or if you dont have a data plan (or simply no reception) you are bound to wifi...

— modified on Jun 10, 2014, 4:37:17 PM

MFG/Regards My1

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Robert Rollo 6
Robert Rollo
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Jun 13, 2014, 4:06:18 AM via Website

To complicated. Are we Ludites

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Linde Lemony
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Aug 16, 2023, 2:20:29 PM via Website

Personally, I use the services of Velure. They help me in everything, you can easily make an Electronic bank transfer through them. You can send any amount and not worry about the safety of funds. And most importantly, this company has extensive experience and everything can be done without problems.

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Michel May
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Mar 8, 2024, 11:51:33 AM via Website

The decision between a micro SD slot and cloud services depends on various factors. A micro SD slot offers immediate access to additional storage without relying on internet connectivity, making it convenient for users who frequently handle large files or want offline access. On the other hand, cloud services provide scalability, accessibility across devices, and backup solutions, albeit requiring an internet connection. The best choice depends on user preferences, storage needs, and usage patterns. For further insights and discussions on this topic, you can explore Quora.

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