So you have probably read about the controversy about Microsoft’s Surface RT device space-wise, that Microsoft advertised it with 32 GB or 64 GB of space when it in fact offered less free space to users of the device (that’s about 16 GB and 45 GB respectively). The very same controversy happens again with Surface Pro devices which apparently reserve a large part of the device’s storage capabilities for the operating system and recovery partition. The 64 Gigabyte Surface Pro will have 23 Gigabyte of free space, the 128 Gigabyte version 83 Gigabyte of free storage.
Keep in mind that storage size is calculated in GiB on Windows (that is Gibibyte) while storage size is measured in Gigabyte (GB) by manufacturers. This means basically that Surface Pro 128 GB units report a total size of 119 GB (Windows Explorer uses GB even though it means GiB) and 64 GB units one of 59 GB.
This is still a lot by all means, especially when you look at the 64 Gigabyte version as almost 2/3 of the device’s storage are used by the operating system and installed software.
It needs to be noted that hardware manufacturers always list the maximum storage capacities of their devices and not the free capacity, and while that is less for Android or iOS powered devices, it is still worth mentioning.
23 Gigabyte is not a lot of free space considering that you can install desktop programs on the Surface Pro and likely will do so. Adding Microsoft Office and a couple of other large applications plus some music could very well fill the device up to the brim already. Heck, a single modern PC game could fill up that storage space alone.
Why is it not an issue then? Because the device offers enough ports and connectors to extend the storage. The Surface Pro has a microSDXC slot which you can add Flash memory cards to. Prices start at about $1 per Gigabyte, a 64 Gigabyte microSDXC card retails for about $64, and 128 Gigabyte cards have dropped in price considerable and are now also available for around $130.
While this means another expense, it also means that Surface Pro users can increase the available storage of the tablet PC easily. And lets not forget the USB port that the devices have as well. You can connect external hard drives to that port to add Terabytes of space to the device. While this is not the most practical thing to do if you are using the Surface on the go, it is still an option that is available to you. Another option that Surface Pro users have is move some files, documents for instance, to cloud storage like SkyDrive.
Adventurous users may also copy and then delete the recovery partition of the Surface, or create a full system backup and then delete it, to free up space on the device. (via Neowin)
The post Why space is not an issue for Microsoft Surface Pro devices appeared first on gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials.
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