MacCentral: New file system constrains Treo 650 storage capacity

MacCentral: New file system constrains Treo 650 storage capacity: "The change to flash memory from DRAM (dynamic RAM) for PalmOne Inc.'s new Treo 650 smart phone appears to have had the unintended consequence of reducing the amount of memory that is actually available to users. As a result, PalmOne plans to offer a free 128MB expansion card to Treo 650 purchasers to get around the problem, the company said Monday. As a general rule of thumb, users thinking about upgrading to the Treo 650 should understand that their old data will require 33 percent more storage capacity on the new smart phone, PalmOne warned users in an online support posting. On the latest version of the popular Treo smart phone, PalmOne made two important changes to the system's design. The device now uses flash memory, rather than DRAM, to store data. Flash memory is nonvolatile, which means it can store data without a constant supply of electricity and protect that data in the event of a battery failure or unintended shutdown. PalmOne users have clamored for flash memory for years, and were finally accommodated with the release of the Tungsten T5 and Treo 650. In order to use flash memory, PalmOne had to switch the file system technology that decides how files are stored. The Treo 650 now uses the NVFS (nonvolatile flash system) file system to store data in clusters. This file system is based on FAT (file allocation table) technology, which was the underlying file system technology for Microsoft Corp.'s DOS operating system as well as Windows 95 and Windows 98. The Windows NT and XP operating systems use a different technology." [read more...]