14 Comments to “Can This Be True? Installing Applications To Your SD Card?”

1. 

   Posted by: David

   April 9, 2008 at 6:09 am EST

   They have a web site at http://aerize.com and there’s a PDF off the page at http://aerize.com/blackberry/software/loader/ which explains the process. You need to use your desktop to “package” a desktop installer version of the application (COD and ALX files).

   Seems you then use this application to load off the SD card when you want to run the app which appears to load it to the BB devices memory. Then you use this same app to unload the application when you are done.

   So it seems like it’s an install/uninstall on demand app you could do for infrequently run programs.
2. 

   Posted by: Bull

   April 9, 2008 at 9:55 am EST

   That is ONE thing I miss about my old WinMo phone the Moto Q. You could install every application on the sd card without ever using up space on your phone’s memory. I was disappointed to discover that RIM didn’t do this automatically but I learned to live with it. Oh well.
3. 

   Posted by: DavidB

   April 9, 2008 at 10:09 am EST

   Well, that’s pretty silly. I clicked the “Try” button for the Memory Optimizer, and it dowloaded and installed quickly. Then a dialog immediately pops up saying my trial period had ended and to enter a serial to continue.

   Well, they’re not getting $20 from ME if I can’t try it to see if it REALLY helps with the OS 4.2 memory leak (more than MemoryUp, which while nice doesn’t help; the leak is apparently elsewhere than in the JVM).

   Oh well, so much for Weds morning hoping!
4. 

   Posted by: Robbie

   April 9, 2008 at 10:54 am EST

   (IMHO) the price point is too high on the themes… Drop it and sell more I say.
5. 

   Posted by: Nikolaus

   April 9, 2008 at 12:05 pm EST

   Does anyone know if Blackberry OS 4.5 (a.k.a. 4.3) will allow you to install apps to the SD Card??

   It seems dumb that this was not in 4.2 because even antiquated Palm devices can install apps to and run apps from the SD card.
6. 

   Posted by: Luciano ES

   April 9, 2008 at 12:47 pm EST

   Nikolaus, it is often argued that being able to run programs on the SD card is a security loophole. Many corporate Blackberry devices are used under strict company restrictions. They don’t want their employees playing Brick Breaker or listening to music, for example.
7. 

   Posted by: hyedipin

   April 9, 2008 at 12:54 pm EST

   Security loophole!? If someone feels it is unsecure to load apps to SD, just don’t install it.. At least RIM should give users a choice. Their attitude is ignorant. They just don’t care. What security loophole are we talking about here, installing King Poker on SD card? I hate RIM for a few reasons and this is one of them
   The other is not allowing users to open files from the SD card. Another stupid attempt in security.

   According to Aerize “Manage: Delete, Open, Move, View File Information, Show Hidden Files”. I had another program, forgot what, which supposedly allowed this, but whenever I tried to open XLS file it said no viewer is assigned. Well, obviously there is a viewer since it can open them from attachment. Anyway, enough with the rant, this proves blackberry is good for nothing but e-mails. UNless they make a drastic change on 4.5 I also miss my WM device, which let me do anything I wanted on the device.
8. 

   Posted by: Nikolaus

   April 9, 2008 at 1:51 pm EST

   Luciano, my BlackBerry is my personal device. I have a Palm from work (cry) so I got a Blackberry for myself. If it is for my use RIM should allow me to install OTA files to the SD, and run them from there too.

   I installed the Aerize Card Loader trial and am pretty disappointed. Most installs today are OTA, and not from the PC. I have very few programs where I have the .alx and .cod files on my PC. I tried this with Pocket Express. Failed. I copied the 1 .alx and 5 .cod files (no info on if I only need one .cod which to use) and Aerize could see the 5 .cod files fine, but didn’t know which was the primary one, so I loaded all, but could never get Pocket Express to run. This was a pretty simple use case. I will not use this if I can’t use it with OTA installs. It needs to allow you on OTA install to say where to install, to device or to SD. Then load it from the SD without having to worry which .cod to load. If the device can figure this out, why not do the same from the SD. Since it is version 1.0, maybe we’ll see something better to come.
9. 

   Posted by: SLVR6

   April 9, 2008 at 5:43 pm EST

   I had the same issue with the memory optimizer, said the trial had already expired. It does seem odd that installing to the SD card is still not a feature with so many BB’s being a consumer device now (mine included!). Besides, for security purposes any BB on BES can be controlled (ie, SD card disabled). Come on RIM, get with it!
10. 

    Posted by: Luciano ES

    April 9, 2008 at 10:51 pm EST

    @Nikolaus, you make good points. I just mentioned arguments I’ve seen elsewhere, I don’t necessarily agree with them. I’m all for unencumbered devices and methods, but RIM is strong in the corporate world and has to cater to its demands. That’s a little politics and conflicts of interests right there.
    .
    The PDF document referred to by David (comment #1) informs that several .cod and .alx files must be packed into one zip file. Check that out.
    .
    @DavidB, I didn’t get any expiration messages. Card Loader seems to be running fine here. As a reviewer, maybe I should review it, but I can’t find enough motivation. The PDF document referred to by David (comment #1) informs that the applications are indeed installed and uninstalled on demand, and that some of them will require a reboot. That has to be a major pain with the infamous Blackberry three-minute bootup sequence. The things is: this card loader is a hack around a platform limitation. That’s not what we want. We want a better platform.
    .
    And I went over all the applications I have uninstalled and wondered if I really wanted any one of them back. I do, but not that much. Having them on my SD card would steal precious space I always need to squeeze one more music album or podcast episode in. My final conclusion was that it’s better to keep an updated list of OTA links and serial numbers at hand so that I can install applications OTA if I really need them instead of cluttering my SD card.
11. 

    Posted by: Luciano ES

    April 9, 2008 at 10:54 pm EST

    On second thought, maybe it’s a good addition to Linux and Mac users who don’t want to rely on the Blackberry Desktop Manager. That’s something RIM should have given us a very long time ago.
12. 

    Posted by: ChrisCross

    April 10, 2008 at 4:04 pm EST

    RIM could just end all the fuss, if the devices just came with 2Gb on board…save the SD slot for media.