I keep hearing that flash memory doesnt last very long, and that you can only overwrite it a set number of times - so how long will my n900 last? I know it has plenty of space (around 25gb free as brand new on mine with only default apps installed) but if I installed/uninstalled programs every day could I expect the phone to last much more than a couple of yrs? Or does the memory it uses differ much from what most phones used, say, 5 yrs ago, in terms of lastability? thanks

Flash memory lifespans have been increasing in leaps and bounds ever since flash memory was first developed, while flash memory does still have a lifespan you can be reasonably safe in the knowledge that the life expectancy of the flash chip in your N900 is longer than yours.

This has been discussed in previous posts...

dont worry about the memory. i think someone did some maths and worst case would be 5yrs with extreme use and i mean extreme

just remember that all fails are worked on MTBF so it is not an exact science

lol, thanks. haha-my last phone was a sony cybershot k800, it lasted a fair while (almost 4 yrs), it still works but Im certain the memory it uses is starting to go/just about completely gone. It can take a long time to start up, and even trailing through the menus to play, say, an mp3, can take aeons... !!! thats why ive replaced it with this n900 (not out of choice, was a present-a hint from a member of the family that I really needed to be up to date, haha). Im just hoping it will last a fair while in comparison

I have used SD cards since 2004 and none of those have failed me yet. To wear one out I think that in practice you would have to write extensively to the card every day, and keep the card quite full. With 'normal' use, and if you don't fill up the card to the maximum (that would decrease the efficience of the wear-leveling algorithm) then the card should last so long you'll feel it's obsolete before it wears out.

doesnt reading from flash memory age it as much as any writing? i always thought it did

extent: No, reading doesn't wear it out the way writing does.
Whenever a file is updated the card will write the new content back to another set of blocks, not the original ones. Each block has a limited number of writes before it wears out, so by moving data around that like it distributes the writes around the card. Reading by itself doesn't wear out the card the same way.

EDIT: The 'short article' about flash on wikipedia (there are longe ones too), says "The main weakness of flash memory is the number of times that data can be written to it. Data can be read from flash as many times as desired, but after a certain number of "write" operations, it will stop working. Most flash devices are designed for about 100,000 - 1,000,000 write operations (or "write cycles")."

Ill prob try not to delete/write too often, once its got all my contacts, some useful apps (games-ahem), and mp3s, ill be pretty happy. no doubt most of the writing/reading will be with changing music lists, but theres no chance id be able to fill the mobile up with 20+gb's worth...

if old blocks for data fail, and the phone can detect them and write to a different block instead (would i need to install an app for making sure bad blocks are never written to again?) then the phone should last a fair while, especially when theres this much space available... thanks

Can one redirect all the 'temporary' stuff to the external card to reduce the impact? I do not know how, but just want to ask the question.

@extent and cheve: Interesting question but this is not an issue you should worry about.

@TA-t3 - Don't be so sure that the device does this. My Olympus camera (1 yr old) always fills 'from the bottom up' and over writes old blocks as soon as they are free. I'd expect the N900 not to do this as it's should really be more intelligent, but I'm sure.