Hey all. Ive been thinking about the full/micro sd issue and have an idea to solve the space issue of full and the "too small" issue of micro.
How about constructing a cartridge into which you can insert 2 micro sd cards?
This is not a bad idea, if
1) it all fits in the size of 1 full SD card: I know 1 full SD is much bigger than 2 micro SD, but still, it might not be so easy to make it fit;
2) it is possible to make it look like just 1 normal SD card, so some extra controller is needed to hide the fact that there are two cards inside, and present the entire thing as if it were one big SD card. If you can rely on the two cards always to be paired and of the same size, this might not be that difficult. But if you want to be able to use the microSD cards individually too, it is probably not as simple as it sounds.
If it is possible, it would be useful in general: not just for the Pandora 2, also for the current Pandora and for every device that uses SD cards. Because the numbers we've seen in another thread indicate that retail prices are comparable for SD and microSD for sizes and speeds in the medium range (e.g. 32GB class 10), while bigger sizes (128GB, 256GB) exist only in full SD and tend to be more expensive per GB. So with such a 2microSD-to-SD adapter, you could buy two cheap 32GB microSD cards and make a 64GB card from them that could be cheaper than a 64GB card you buy directly, while you have the added benefit that you can "cut it in two" and use its parts in microSD-only devices.
Maybe it is not possible, because if it is, why doesn't it exist already?
That way youd only have one slot which would save the space of the second full sd but your removable media would still be a good size apart from when upgrading cards in your carts. With a bit more built in storage for the basic necessities i think it'd work nicely. Even if you werent space saving 2 micro sd's in a sd ish sized cart would be better than full sd's which should have 4 times the storage since theyre 4 times as big but dont.
Why not keep the two slots? If the cartridge/adapter is possible, that would give you potentially 4 microSD slots if you like those, which is even better. I would probably use 1 slot with a full SD card and 1 slot with the adapter (or multiple adapters, because I wouldn't want to swap their inner microSD cards too often), so I can have 1 speedy and easily swappable card (the full SD card), and 1 slower card for cheap bulk storage (the 2x microSD card), which is easy to upgrade incrementally: e.g. you start with 2x32GB, then you upgrade one of them to 64GB to get 96GB total, then the other to get 128GB, then the first again to 128GB once that exists in microSD to get 192GB total, and so on).
I really don't think we should sacrifice storage options to save space. I'd rather have the Pandora 2 a bit bigger in length and width (I think we all agree that it should be a bit thinner in terms of thickness, but not too much to make it uncomfortable to hold) with more features, than smaller but less features than the Pandora 1.
My ideal Pandora 2 would have all of the following storage features:
- fast internal NAND of 1 or 2 GB, to store the OS essentials (for fast booting and loading of libraries)
- internal microSD slot (behind the battery maybe) to store the rest of the OS without having to worry too much about space and memory wear
- two full SDXC slots that are upwards compatible to as high speeds as possible
- a full USB 3.0 port that allows you to insert a memory stick (or 3G stick or whatever small USB thingie) without having it stick out too much (i.e. you can leave it plugged in during transport, it's not in the way while holding the device)
I also like Binky's wireless dock idea, but I'm worried about the battery life and latency if all that data transfer is going through the air instead of wires.