Memory Management on Windows Mobile Devices

Our topic this month for Ask The Experts is on the age old topic of saving space on mobile devices. Anyone thats used a Pocket PC for any length of time will eventually run into this problem.

My first method of dealing with this may seem like cheating. When purchasing my last Pocket PC I specifically chose a device that had twice the memory of most other devices -- in this case it was an iPAQ hx2755 which has 128 MB RAM and 128 MB ROM. Of course you pay for the extra memory so this may not be a valid solution for many people.

With Compact Flash and Secure Digital cards it is very easy to add extra storage. The problem is many programs require all or part of their application be stored in main memory. What can you do to deal with the never-ending battle with memory?

Here are some things to keep in mind regarding mobile device storage:

• Today plug-ins will need to be installed in primary memory. With the Windows 2003 operating system you might be able to get away with having a Today plug-in loaded on a storage card, but with Windows Mobile 5 this is not recommended. There are many wonderful Today plug-ins available, but you really need to limit these to your absolute favorites.
• Applications using alarms should be loaded in primary memory. This is especially true with Windows Mobile 5 devices. When the device is in hibernation/sleep mode the storage card will power down. I've seen many instances where my alarm program would not "wake up" because it was on the storage card. It's best to load these types of applications in primary memory.
• Configure your default document storage location. Most applications are configured to store their files in the documents folder in primary memory. Most modern applications can be configured to store their files on a storage card.
• Keep your documents folder clean. Some applications don't allow you to change the default directory, or you forget to configure it. It's a good idea to review your documents folder often to make sure it doesn't get out of control.
• Uninstall applications you don't use. If you are like me you often load demos and other applications to try them out. I then forget they are installed and they sit there taking up space. Even if you installed the apps on the storage card there is a chance it installed a file (i.e. a "dll") in primary memory. Removing unused apps is a good habit to get into.
• Check your system memory often. This seems obvious but it is easy to forget. This can be viewed by the Memory application found in Settings, but there are many plug-ins which help here (of course those apps take up space so keep that in mind).

If you are struggling with your memory you aren't alone. Hopefully these tips, and those of the other experts, will help. If you have others to add please post a comment.