Nokia N8: Will 256MB RAM Be Enough for Multitasking?
iPhone users rejoice today as they finally get a taste of multitasking. Nokia users have been doing it for a while now, but with certain limitations. Running too many multiple apps in the background results in “memory full” errors. Previous Nokia N97 and N96 power users are aware of this. Is the Nokia N8’s 256MB RAM memory enough for multitasking?
Nokia N8 out of memory with 6 apps open
I’m bringing this question up after watching a recent video of a pre-release Nokia N8 demonstration at Nokia Connections. 42 seconds into the video, you’ll see the error pop-up, “Memory full. Close some applications and try again.” This was triggered when the Nokia rep was trying to play a video from the gallery. A few seconds after the message, she held the menu button to show the current apps running. They were the browser, application menu, gallery, photo editor, social networking app, and the WiFi wizard.
Before we judge too quickly, we have to keep in mind that the device shown was not running final software. I also did not see this message during my short preview of the Nokia N8.
For comparison, the Nokia N97 had 128MB RAM and the Nokia N900 had 256MB. When the Google Nexus One was released in January, it came out with 512MB. The new iPhone 4, which many tech geeks would argue doesn’t support “real multitasking” has 512MB RAM. The Nokia N8 is expected in the third quarter this year and was stuck with 256MB. Why didn’t Nokia opt for higher RAM?
I sound like I’m nitpicking, but I’m simply concerned. I’m excited about the Nokia N8, but I really… REALLY… hope we don’t see that “memory full” message when the device makes it to the market.
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Sebastian Brannstrom on 21 June 2010:
Nokia is all about the Bill Of Materials. Always have been, always will be. RAM is reasonably expensive, so not adding those extra 256 MB probably saves several dollars in production costs.
Traecer on 21 June 2010:
This has been my fear all along: like the N97 before it, Nokia would cripple the N8 by giving it so little RAM it would only be able to 1 or 2 apps at a time, eliminating its usefulness as a smartphone. It was obvious from the start that 128MB of RAM was not enough to effectively run S60 5th Ed (only 50MB free on boot? Really Nokia?). And now, with a newer, even more memory hungry OS, Nokia has given the device only 256MB of RAM. Nokia really needed another N95 hit now, not another N97 turkey. If the N8 is crippled like its predecessor, Nokia is finished in the smartphone business, period.
Mark Guim on 22 June 2010:
Where did it say Symbian^3 is even more memory hungry? I thought Symbian made it more efficient. Nevertheless, we won't know for sure until users get it in their hands.
Mark Guim on 22 June 2010:
Maybe they should start selling different models based on RAM… like how stores sell computers!
Juan Mateo on 22 June 2010:
If Symbian^3 requires the same or less base memory than ^1 will be enough, if not will be another fiasco. My concern is that in this demo nothing extraordinary is running and the apps are part of the OS, I understand that is a beta firmware, but my coin is that loading a complex web page + gallery + maps = out of memory.
Traecer on 22 June 2010:
True, we won't know until the final devices are in people's hands. However, the 3 homescreens and graphics-intensive task switcher by themselves would eat up precious memory. Add on 3 homescreens full of memory-hungry widgets, and I bet this thing chokes. (I'm sure no one will ever get 3 homescreens full of widgets, it will run out of memory long before that.)
And none of the basic OS stuff takes into account the overhead of running Qt applications. Qt apps are going to need a LOT more memory than apps using the old Avkon API. I seriously doubt 256MB of RAM is going to be enough to run Qt apps without the phone running out of memory and crashing all the time.
I hope I'm wrong, but I bet I'm not.
Mark Guim on 22 June 2010:
Very good points. I definitely hope you're wrong too =)
atom on 22 June 2010:
256MB will help continue the tradition of Memory Full messages
I know it's pre-production and all.. but my E70, N82, N95, 5800 and E72 all have production firmware and they all toss up the memory full messages…
There is a lot of talk about symbian being so efficient with memory and such but I think 512MB is probably called for in this phone… I'll buy it anyways i guess but it would be nice to have some more RAM
Derek jones on 22 June 2010:
Hopefully that was just a random bug and wasn't an actual memory full error, seeing how it has twice the RAM as my N97 and I can run 6 apps with no problem.
Evo on 22 June 2010:
Its a memory leak, probably we wont see this in final. Or who knows. We might.
Michael Hell on 22 June 2010:
i recently heard that the N8 has about 150MB of free RAM after startup and more than enough phone memory. so i definitely think thats just a bug. keep in mind, the N8 is still in proto stage
Breathless Tao on 22 June 2010:
It's not being nitpicky, imo…I've been eyeing Nokia RAMs quite fearfully since the N95. 64 wasn't enough, they opted for 128 instead of 256. 128 wasn't enough. Now they opt for just doubling it again. Same in the Booklet: that 1GB is just not enough for Win7 to run decently. I wish I understood why they're doing this in HIGH-END models…
Varunkrish on 22 June 2010:
That would be epic .. Nokia N8 8GB 256MB RAM , Nokia N8 16GB 512MB RAM , N8 32GB 1GB RAM. I'm sure the 16gig will sell the most
Dcastrog on 22 June 2010:
i got a bad feeling about that :s just now i was browsing the ovi store with the new 'load more apps' feature and it closed on me after loading 10 pages of apps.
bigbrovar on 22 June 2010:
One thing which needs be considered is the fact that the N8 would ship with a 3D graphic accelerator with support for openGL ES 2.0. meaning most graphic intensive process wont be handled by CPU as was the case on the N97. That is not to say I am happy with the Ram on the N8 I can not help but feel that Nokia really never learns. At a time when 1Ghz is the standard for smart phones (even the N900 released almost a year before the N8 had 750 for virtual memory to back the 256mb ram). Maybe we are hitting the panic button way too early. Some would argue that Symbian has better memory and CPU management capability compared to many smartphone OS out there. so we would have to wait and see how the early reviews of the device plays out.
phessler on 22 June 2010:
I had an E70 that was crippled due to the small amounts of ram. I was basically unable to use one app and receive an incoming phone call at the same time.
Since the N8 supports swap (which I think is a horrendous idea), Nokia thinks they can get away with lowering the physical ram.
Thankfully, due to the hostile review the N8 got, Nokia will be focusing on usability, which includes how much ram apps are using.
SteveRowlands on 22 June 2010:
This may well be a case of all other Nokia's that have gone before it. The conception of a device and specification is done so early on in the product cycle, and the Nokia machine is too big to change direction once on it's journey.
When the N8 was first penned, 256Mb of RAM was a game changer. As normal, the more agile in the industry can out manoeuvre Nokia with alarming regularity.
That's not to say the N8 won;t be good though, because I think it will be.
stevelitchfield on 22 June 2010:
Relax. It's a preproduction app bug. The N8 has THREE times the free RAM that the N97 had, after booting. Even with the extra homescreens, you'll not run out of RAM on this device.
Mato56 on 22 June 2010:
Memory full icon will hount N8 until N8-01 comes out with 512MB of RAM. 256MB is not adequate for such operating sistem…. Nokia will never learn
Sami Sayad on 22 June 2010:
N900 has nearly 1GB of RAM memory, 256 MB NAND + 768 MB of swap : http://symbianbriefs.blogspot.com/2010/01/n900-...
Keke on 22 June 2010:
S^3 has WDP which extends the physical RAM quite much. So the 256MB isn't the full truth. More info here: http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Sym...
Mark Guim on 23 June 2010:
Bad URL. Would have loved to learn more about it.
Ashutosh on 23 June 2010:
next version of N8 will have 512MB of RAM and will cheaper than this version…
NOK fan on 23 June 2010:
…because OPK would add more value to Nokia by being terminated. This guy couldn't drag a starving man to a BBQ. The N8 is a great device, but if Nokia understood anything over the past 36 months it would be PERCEPTION is REALITY. 256MB may be more than adequate, but it remains an Achilles Heal in the world of Tech Media, where it will be spun as a deficit. It has nothing to do with reality, but try to defend this with geek talk about symbian OS resource efficiency or bandwidth or competitive costs or even price positioning…Nokia has failed by getting into this argument . OPK continues to miss the mark when it comes to understanding consumer perception. He is no Steve Jobs…he isn't even Steve's secretary. Nokia, get a new CEO and move on with your business.IMO.
Jb8967 on 23 June 2010:
Great, so why the heck would any sane executive allow the product to be shown on the web with memory deficiencies if he or she knew of these pre-production issues? It makes no sense…Nokia is intent to commit suicide. OPK is inept. IMO.
Jb8967 on 23 June 2010:
Because the idiot at Nokia who makes these decisions has exactly 256MB of equivalent brain matter,
Jb8967 on 23 June 2010:
They should have gone with 512MB because it would neutralize the RAM deficiency argument that plagued Nokia's biggest disaster ever…the N97. I guess they need a little more pain and to fully internalize this failure. The stupid shall be punished.
Jb8967 on 23 June 2010:
A memory leak! Quick, somebody call Tony Hayward!
Jb8967 on 23 June 2010:
The Nokia board should tie executive bonuses to two ratios: 1) # smartphones sold and 2) the RAM QTY per smartphone sold. Problem solved.
NOK fan on 23 June 2010:
…because the only RAM at Nokia that gets much attention these days is the one they use to shove their resp. heads up their own a$$e$.IMO.
Evo on 23 June 2010:
Who the Hell is that.
DiscoMullah on 24 June 2010:
I think its a Pre-Production bug and we should just relax for a second. Let's keep in mind, at that price and spec, it is not aimed to compete with the iJesus. This is more a mid-ranged device which will depreciate and become incredibly affordable for EVERYONE. 256MB ram seems okay because Symbian^3 will have a better memory management system. Let's also keep in mind that the GPU will handle a lot of the visual load. Symbian is also a lot less power hungry then most modern OSs. Let's keep S60V5 (Touch) out of this because, that was a cut and paste effort. Nokia seems really serious this time around, so let's try to be a little more optimistic.
Nahkanunna on 24 June 2010:
It might have just been a bug on that specific FW version. As there are many version before (and probably after) they may not have noticed that specific bug, or didn't fix it for some other reason. memory leaks can be tricky to hunt and fix anyway, and when you have many things that is new code with that area (writable paging stuff) there are going to be bugs like that until they are fixed.
But I'm sure all Nokia engineers are aware of the bug now, so if it's not going to be fixed it's not because they don't know about it.
In my opinion 256MB for Symbian OS is plenty especially when taken paging into account. Don't be fooled by Android or iOS as they are OS's that are not originally made for mobile use anyway requiring more memory because of that. (Linux, OSX)
Yorchqro on 26 June 2010:
That has been Nokia's mistake since 5800, that and the internal memory, at least the X6 has more internal memory, but the RAM is useless, I can't open anything else with the web browser open, it always crashes due to memory.
Buzzbox on 28 June 2010:
Exactly. Nokia has been the hardware leader for so long (highest megapixel cameras, multitasking, video calling since 2005, biggest cards) and now 256mb. NO! I expect at least 1gb of RAM and 64gb of expandable memory. The camera better be at least 12 megapixel if it's already on the N8. And give it MeeGo for christ's sake. I don't care about fart apps, I want a device with power. Don't worry about the cost, we are not like those toys who buy subsidized apples.
Rex on 28 June 2010:
Well, I dunno- my N82 with the last firmware released (35.0.0.2) boots up with about 80 MB RAM available for apps (out of 128 total) and I've very, very rarely encountered memory full problems despite concurrently running dozens of apps.
Marcus Christopher McFann on 30 June 2010:
I like the level of RAM on the N8, since I see the N8 as the midrange entry device for the masses that probably wont tax a device much anyway. There may be a higher RAMed version wilth a bigger screen later, ala N95-2.
Marcus Christopher McFann on 30 June 2010:
Now if the N9 isn't close to industry leading in RAM, then I panic.
Stylinred on 2 July 2010:
I have to admit the ram is the only concern i have with this phone; the idea of Virtual Ram never sits well with me, we all know that that is just a crock.
I hope the 256mb will be enough but i have my doubts; it doesn't make sense as to why Nokia would cut a corner on the memory IF it was an issue of cutting corners.
jorgearturo on 3 July 2010:
In the video you can see there are like 12 apps running, and in those are the hard ones, video player, audio player, web browser, image viewer and the PIM apps too. So there is a lot of ram being used there.
Commonly I use the browser, the pim and the media player at the same time, so I think it will be better than the N97, also I'm not big fan of network widgets, I like the shortcuts, music player and that's it.
David on 7 July 2010:
I have a Samsung Wave (which has 512MB of memory). I occasionally see Memory Low errors when running 4 or more apps…Perhaps it's a firmware issue, perhaps not. To put only 256MB in a phone of this category is commercially non competitive as a) lots of other phones have 512 mb and b) at the sale price I expect the phone to run the latest applications for at least 1.5 years.
20LEgend on 7 July 2010:
……This was triggered when the Nokia rep was trying to play a video from the gallery. A few seconds after the message, she held the menu button to show the current apps running. They were the browser, application menu, gallery, photo editor, social networking app, and the WiFi wizard….
Sweet Jesus, my N95 8Gb can manage that without memory low errors
andrei on 8 July 2010:
The world is going insane. My old personal computer has only 256 Mb of ram, but handles well some tabs opened in mozilla, along with an instant messaging program and winamp running, on windows xp. So why do mobile devices need such big amounts of ram? Why do we even call them mobiles, when the hardware inside them compete with the hardware a laptop has. The low memory error is a nightmare for real, i encountered it very often on my good ol' n95 (in this case is understandable, with only 20 Mb of ram free at boot), but with 150 Mb of free ram or more at boot, in the case of the error appearing while browsing a few websites, i believe it is a software issue rather than a hardware one.
Mateus on 17 July 2010:
Congratulations Nokia! It really is showing everyone that smartphones do not know!
HookahGuru on 20 July 2010:
I just installed the latest and greatest of Opera Mobile for my N97 and it destroys my phone. Within minutes it says memory full. This is with nothing else running. If the N8 really wants to compete it needs 512mb if not more. If they are going to be so ahead of the curve with their 12mp camera and wide screen lens, they might as well as add as much memory as possible. Third party apps will drain the memory far too fast. They always do. They still have a month to add more, right?
Stupid on 4 August 2010:
why nokia n8 dun come out with 512 RAM…
YOUCANNOTDENY on 21 August 2010:
SOOOOOOOO FAIL NOKIA! You try to hide your underpowered hardware with Symbian, and it still failed in your demonstration. 256MB ram is less than some devices from 2 years ago!
dabas on 29 August 2010:
nokia n8 willbe super hit
David Puffer on 31 August 2010:
I just asked a person at Nokia about the N8 and when the other colors will become available and they happen to mention that it will have 512mb of RAM. Was this a silent update to the RAM or am I just oblivious?
Stylinred on 1 September 2010:
latest video found online from russia shows the n8 running 15 apps smoothly
Stylinred on 1 September 2010:
i dont see why when we've seen the n8 run 15 apps simultaneously smoothly in that russian n8 overview
David Puffer on 1 September 2010:
I didn’t see that video prior to my post. Still though, 512mb of RAM would be great, not for the built in apps like the music player or photo gallery but for the third party ones that tend to annihilate RAM.