As Google's official announcement of Android One smartphones in India starts to sink in, more details about the three devices unveiled today are beginning to surface. The devices initially revealed for the Android One program include units from Spice, Karbonn and Micromax. Consistent with the Android One minimum specificiations, all of the devices have 4GB of internal storage space which can be expanded with a microSD card. A review of the Spice and Karbonn smartphones reveals a microSD card is required for users to access their camera, download content or take screenshots.
The good news for buyers of the Spice device is that the company is throwing in an 8GB microSD card with their purchase. Micromax is offering the same deal even though it does not appear their device suffers from reduced functionality if they happen to not have an microSD card installed.
The reason for this restriction on the smartphones appears to be due to the limited space available in internal storage. Even though the devices come with 4GB installed, 1.7GB is used up by the operating system and apps out of the box. The devices may have been setup like this so that internal storage space can be maintained for other purposes that keep the systems operating smoothly.
source: phoneArena
For all that I’m not in the market for one of these extreme budget phones I’m thrilled to see them because it means that Google can’t strip out SD card support from Android entirely.