XOOM may launch with non-working SD card slot

[ArrTooDeeToo]

KnowYourMobile is reporting that the XOOM will launch with a non-working SD card slot due to an issue with Honeycomb (not the XOOM hardware itself), but that there will be an update "shortly after" the release to fix the issue, according to Moto product manager Mark Notton.

This makes me wonder if the product is already finished an being manufactured as we speak, otherwise wouldn't they just be able to fix the issue before it goes to the factories to be made? Or is the tablet just going to launch with an unfinished version of Honeycomb?

 

[armalite]

How can they launch something that doesn't work?

 

[Dan_08]

it's still got 32gb of internal, but yeah pretty sad not to have the tablet fully working.

 

[Jaxidian]

Would you rather wait another month or two to get your hands on the tablet so you can get it when that update is ready? I'm sure that 97% of us would much rather have the tablet sooner without the working SD Slot than wait that extra 1-2 months just for a working SD Card.

 

[ArrTooDeeToo]

Oh, I will definitely buy it without a working SD slot. There are plenty of other ways to transfer data, some of which are even more convenient, like the cloud.

What I'm most worried about is what else is going to be unfinished in Honeycomb at launch?

 

[armalite]

Well that's the whole thing will it be finished either the slot or os

 

[EgooEspada]

How can they launch something that doesn't work?

Sounds like the software doesn't support it and the SD slot was a last minute thing. Originally Google was trying to move away from SD cards and to just internal/flash memory. Guess they changed their mind and added it back. 32GB is enough for now, but I look forward to the software update so I can go shopping for a 32GB SD card - assuming I need it anyway.

 

[reizac926]

usb storage?

I can't recall if the xoom has a USB port. If so, you would likely be able to run a thumb drive on it, like I have a tiny micro-sd reader that won't stick out much. That would get me by for now.

Right???

 

[reizac926]

Yes - USB 2.0 PORT

Yes. I just checked and it does have a USB 2.0 port. I wish it were 3.0, but that's probably too crazy. It's nice that it has that, since I have a 1tb passport drive that is FULL FULL FULL of movies.

 

[tessa25]

Can you see if your thumbdrive works? I was unsuccessful with that on my Droid X.

 

[reizac926]

No usb port!!!

The specs that I saw show that it has a USB 2.0 port, but the unit that I saw today at Best Buy does NOT have that port. I did see a micro-usb port on the bottom if it, but that is, I believe, to use it AS a storage device.
What the crap?!?!?
I just bought an android tablet - the flytouch2 - from a china distributor. It's really pretty cool for the money, and has two full USB ports, and two micro-sd ports, and an HDMI out. I got it for my wife.
What's the deal with motorola?

 

[TomXP411]

KnowYourMobile is reporting that the XOOM will launch with a non-working SD card slot due to an issue with Honeycomb (not the XOOM hardware itself), but that there will be an update "shortly after" the release to fix the issue, according to Moto product manager Mark Notton.

Yup. I got my Xoom, and the SD socket had a little plastic slug that says "replace with micro SD card after OS upgrade"

I triec one of my spare cards, and no joy. It defintely does not work ATM.

Personally, I like the way the Galaxy Tab handles the external slot. It uses the 16 gigs of internal flash as the SD card, and the external care gets mounted as a subdirectory. Hopefully, MOTO or Google will do something along those lines.

 

[shadowsbane0]

Verizon Salesman Take

When I purchased mine the sales rep speculated that Verizon was holding off enabling the SD until the 64GB Micro-SDHGs were available.

4G downloading will fill up a card fast.

 

[cplus]

Personally, I like the way the Galaxy Tab handles the external slot. It uses the 16 gigs of internal flash as the SD card, and the external care gets mounted as a subdirectory. Hopefully, MOTO or Google will do something along those lines.

Have you browsed the file system? It appears to me that the Xoom may handle things this way as well

 

[TomXP411]

When I purchased mine the sales rep speculated that Verizon was holding off enabling the SD until the 64GB Micro-SDHGs were available.

4G downloading will fill up a card fast.

And downloading on WiFi (with no usage cap) will fill up the card even faster.

No, I think the issue is trying to let apps access data on the card and on the internal storage. Personally, I like the way the Galaxy Tab does it: the card is mounted as a sub-directory on the internal storage. So the Galaxy's internal storage is really /sdcard, and the actual card is /sdcard/external_sd. There are shortcomings there: the most notable problem is that since most apps don't let you change their storage directory, you can't specify whether a folder goes on the card or on internal storage.

I'm thinking the best solution is that, combined with symbolic links. If someone wants to move an app's data off to the SD card, create a symbolic link to the folder on the card. That way, apps still think the data is in /sdcard/, even if it's really in /sdcard/external_sd