Are WP8 devices with 512MB RAM crippled?

[Guest hecatae]

From Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 website:

Memory (RAM).

Some apps and features won’t work on phones with less than 1 GB of RAM. To see how much memory your phone has, check the manufacturer’s website or your phone’s documentation.

Uh oh, it's WP7's 256MB RAM situation all over again!

Microsoft kindly gave Engadget a full list of hardware requirements, as follows:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor
  
• Minimum 512MB RAM for WVGA phones; minimum 1GB RAM for 720p / WXGA
  
• Minimum 4GB flash memory
  
• GPS and A-GNSS; GLONASS is supported if OEMs decide to include it
  
• Support for micro-USB 2.0
  
• 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with three-button detection support
  
• Rear-facing AF camera with LED or Xenon flash, optional front-facing camera (both need to be VGA or better) and dedicated camera button
  
• Accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors, as well as vibration motor (magnetometer and gyroscope are optional)
  
• 802.11b/g and Bluetooth (802.11n is optional)
  
• DirectX graphics hardware support with hardware acceleration for Direct3D using programmable GPU
  
• Multi-touch capacitive touch screen with minimum of four simultaneous points

The only Windows Phone 8 device I am aware of that only has 512MB RAM is the HTC 8S. Paul has mentioned to me that he felt it was more of a 'budget device', and I now understand why! This also explains the low price point it is being offered at compared to the 8X, Lumia 820 and Lumia 920.

I just really want to know what applications and features will not work... as will other potential buyers...

[Via: WindowsPhone.com]

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