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Monday, April 1, 2013

Storage Analyzer: A Must-Have App That Has No Business Being Free


Storage Analyzer: A Must-Have App That Has No Business Being Free


Storage Analyzer can analyze your SD card, external SD cards, USB storage devices and system partitions. It can order content by size, number of files, date or name. It sees the space used by applications using App2SD -- the .android_secure folder. It can include or exclude folders from the mediascan of the Android Gallery. It filters out content you're aware of to make the rest more noticeable. It deletes unnecessary data.

I've been running into major headaches with file-storage memory on my Android tablet. If you too have been having problems getting files to fit on your device, it may not be that your device's memory or SD card is full, but that phantom files are hogging resources.
I'm usually -- carefully -- buying cheap gear. In the device business, that usually means limited on-board memory. I justify these self-imposed memory limits to myself by arguing that I generally stream media and don't use file-sharing. Therefore, I don't need much memory. I believe myself.
Of course, we all know that this memory Scrooge-ery doesn't work. You need as much memory as you can get your hands on. Or do you?
Mission Possible
I got to find out the other day when I was trying to perform a simple, lean PDF download from a Web browser. The minuscule file failed to download. Reason: Memory was full. This had happened a few times and was beginning to turn into an irritation.
A file exploration with the stock-file manager and then Root Explorer -- which requires root -- didn't find any voluminous files that could be using resources. There were no photo albums or movies on the device, and I'd already cleared out the topographic map tiles I hoard.
I was about ready to do an onerous factory reset when a Web-based search prompted my discovery of LeveloKment's free Storage Analyzer tool in the Google Play Store.
The app promised to identify bulky, space-consuming files and folders.
Would Storage Analyzer let me identify an outsized, space-hogging file that was making a device useless? The answer is, yes it did.
Within a few seconds of install and launch, it had identified an overweight DCIM image thumbnail. The multiple-gigabyte file had taken on obese proportions and was in need of gastric surgery. A simple file delete got rid of it, the device didn't blow up, and I was able to continue. Nice job.

Impressive Features

Unlike other storage optimization apps -- like Kalyani's SD CARD Storage Optimizer Pro, for example -- LeveloKment's Storage Analyzer searches for bloated files across partitions. That means it looks in hard-to-find SD Card partitions, obvious SD cards, and on the system itself. That results in a better chance of finding the corpulent file. A quirk in Android file structure means that multiple SD card partitions can be used -- all named "SD Card."
Files can be ordered graphically by size with this app, so it's amazingly easy to see where the problem is.
For those rooted, root options allow file size-readings in the data folder. A simple "use su rights" check box gets you superuser rights and lets you into the troublesome folder.
Data folders can hold file chunks left over by removed apps, so it's a good source of space- liberation. Even if you're not rooted, you might be able to free-up space by checking data folders on your accessible SD card or cards.
For my purposes, all I needed was the large file-size functions. However, included features that may come in handy sometime include ordering by the amount of files, copying and moving, and including or excluding folders.

In Conclusion

This is one of those must-have apps for anyone who has owned an Android tablet or smartphone for a while. Redundant files accumulate with time. Before going out and buying a new device because memory is full, or even investing in an upgraded SD card, run LeveloKment's Storage Analyzer.
You may not need more memory, or a new device. LeveloKment -- you need to charge for this.

Want to Suggest an Android App for Review?

Is there an Android app you'd like to suggest for review? Something you think other Android users would love to know about? Something you find intriguing but aren't sure it's worth your time or money?
Please send your ideas to me, and I'll consider them for a future Android app review.
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