A: That’s right. It’s a characteristic of Android, the Droid’s operating system made by Google, and it’s something I noted as a weakness when I reviewed the first Android phone over a year ago.

Even though the Droid comes with 16 gigabytes of memory, in the form of a removable card, apps can’t be stored on this memory card. They must be stored in a special area of internal memory, which in the case of the Droid totals only a measly 256 megabytes, about a fourth of one gigabyte. The memory card is reserved instead for things like documents, music, videos and pictures. That limits the total number of apps the phone can hold at any one time.

Google says the amount of internal memory allotted for apps is up to the hardware makers, and notes that the Droid has twice as much as the original Android phone. It also says that makers of complex apps that use things like graphics that are ancillary to the core app itself could theoretically offload these files to the memory cards.

But users of Apple’s competing iPhone can devote nearly all of its 16 gigabytes of memory to storing third-party apps, allowing many more apps to be stored on the phone.

I have all my data (addresses, calendar, notes) stored on my Palm Zire. I’d like to get an iPod Touch, but can’t figure out how to transfer the Palm calendar. Can you help? Or, do you know of any other “smart” handheld that will allow me to import my Palm data and give me Internet/email access?

A: There are various workarounds for doing the transfer to an iPod Touch, but, since you ask, there is another smart phone with great Internet capabilities that comes with a way to do it simply and directly: the Palm Pre. It’s based on a new and different operating system than your Zire is, called webOS, and is designed to sync with wireless contact and calendar sources rather than desktop programs.

But Palm has developed a one-time, one-way utility for transferring data from desktop software used by an older Palm to one of the wireless calendar and contact services with which the Pre was designed to sync. More information is at: http://bit.ly/2ivFI.

I want to buy a new computer and I really like the new iMac with the 27″ screen. I am 72 years old, which is one of the reasons I want the larger screen. Please tell me if you think my buying this iMac is a good idea. Is there some negative aspect of the iMac that I should be aware of?

A: I gave the new iMac with the huge screen a positive review, so I obviously think it’s a good computer. But, if by mentioning your age you mean to imply that you have vision issues, you should be aware that the new iMac’s screen isn’t just physically large, but is high resolution.

That allows it to pack a lot more content onto the screen, but, depending on what program you’re using, it can make the text small. Word processors, email programs and Web browsers usually allow you to enlarge text, but not all programs do.

The Mac itself has a system-wide zooming feature, but that makes some tasks harder to work with. I recommend you go to a store and play with the big iMac for a while to make sure you feel comfortable with its screen resolution.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

Best Buy is offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 if you purchase a machine today that has Vista. Is it better to wait to buy after the release of Windows 7?

A: I’d say so. If you buy a Vista machine now, you’ll likely have to spend at least some time and effort upgrading, and you may run into at least minor issues, which is something that sometimes happens even with straightforward upgrades. Since PCs preloaded with Windows 7 are only two weeks away, it’s worth the wait, unless you are in dire need of a new PC right away.

With the end of Microsoft Money, are there any good alternatives to Quicken? I tried Quicken Online, but it is just too limited.

A: I haven’t reviewed it, but a program called Moneydance might be worth checking out. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and claims to import data from Money and Quicken. Moneydance costs $40, but there’s a free trial. Information and downloads are is at moneydance.com.

I read that upgrading to Windows 7 deactivates the license key for any prior version of Windows, ruling out any chance of reversing the upgrade if it doesn’t work out for some reason.Is this true? If I am going to take the plunge into Windows 7, I want to make sure I can always go back if I’m unhappy.

A: Microsoft says that’s false. The company emailed me to say: “The upgrade process does not deactivate the product key for the previous version of Windows. If you need to uninstall Windows 7 and go back to your previous version of Windows, you can activate it using the original product key.”

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns at http://walt.allthingsd.com.

There are networked hard drives from several manufacturers that can back up both laptops wirelessly and allow sharing. One I reviewed recently is the My Book World Edition from Western Digital. Another approach would be to use a Web-based synchronization service. My favorite of these is called SugarSync, from a company called Sharpcast.

SugarSync can automatically, and almost instantly, synchronize files in folders you select among multiple computers, while also backing them up to a password-protected Web account. SugarSync starts at $5 a month or $50 a year for 30 gigabytes of files, and goes up in price based on the amount you use. The company offers a free two-gigabyte account and a free trial of larger accounts for 30 days. More information is at sharpcast.com.

I have been a Windows user for may years but have wanted to change to Mac. Yet every article I read says that Quicken, which I depend upon heavily, will not run—at least reliably—on a Mac, even with the Windows-compatible software. Is this true?

The native Quicken version for the Mac is a less capable program than the Windows version, and doesn’t use the same file format, which makes importing Windows Quicken files a tedious and imperfect process for many users. Intuit, the maker of Quicken, is promising a new, much better native Mac version early next year that it claims will solve these problems, but I haven’t tested it, so I can’t verify that pledge.

However, in tests I have run periodically, Quicken for Windows ran just fine on a Mac equipped to run Windows and Windows programs. This was true when I used either Parallels or Fusion, which allow you to run Windows programs on a Mac simultaneously with Mac programs; or when I used Boot Camp, which converts the Mac into a full-fledged Windows machine, with Apple’s operating system turned off.

I plan to get a new computer after Windows 7 is released in October, to replace my old Compaq running Windows XP. Will I have difficulty moving my files to the new one?

You shouldn’t have much difficulty with your personal data files. Microsoft is building in an Easy Transfer program to move personal files to a new Windows 7 PC. But the Microsoft program won’t move over your programs. You will have to reinstall all your programs, which means finding your installation disks or installer files and re-installing all the updates from that have occurred over the years. A company called LapLink is promising to sell software it says will automate the entire process, including moving programs, to spare you this re-installation burden. But it isn’t out yet, and I haven’t tested it with Windows 7.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns at the All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

In your review of the new iPhone 3GS, you said that AT&T had changed its upgrade policy so some buyers of the previous model could get the new-customer price earlier than planned. Can you explain this in more detail?

Almost all cellphones in the U.S. are subsidized by the carriers to bring down prices. Typically, existing customers—who have already benefited from a subsidy—can’t upgrade at the lower new-customer price (in this case $199) until they reach a point in their contracts where this subsidy has been recovered. These dates vary, based on a formula that takes into account things like the customer’s monthly spending rate.

When some early adopters of the 2008 iPhone model, the 3G, discovered they wouldn’t immediately qualify for this $199 “standard upgrade” price—the same as the new-customer price—they got angry. So AT&T made a concession, but only a partial one. It declared that any customer who had been told he or she couldn’t get the $199 price until sometime in July, August or September of 2009 would in fact now be able to qualify for that lower price starting on the first day of availability.

This concession doesn’t apply at all to owners of the original 2007 iPhone, or even every owner of the 2008 3G model. And it isn’t based on when you bought your 3G, but when the system told you that you could buy the new model at the “standard” upgrade price of $199. You can check the price AT&T or Apple will charge you for an upgrade by going to www.att.com/iPhone and clicking on “Check upgrade eligibility.”

I’ve recently heard that the new Palm Pre smart phone is unable to import data from the old Palm Desktop program. In other words, if you have Palm Desktop filled with data from a previous Palm model, you’ll be unable to get that data into your new Palm Pre. Is this true?

No. While the Pre isn’t designed to repeatedly sync with the old Palm Desktop software, Palm does offer a program, for Windows and Mac, that will perform a one-time import of your old data from Palm Desktop. It can also do a one-time import of data from certain other desktop programs as well, including Microsoft Outlook on Windows, and iCal and Address Book on the Mac. This program will help you move your data to one of the online services, such as Google, with which the Pre is designed to sync continuously. The software is called the Palm Data Transfer Assistant and is free at http://bit.ly/3lIaZ.

I am contemplating purchasing the 17” MacBook Pro rather than the 13” or 15” models because the antiglare matte screen is offered only with the 17”. How bad is the glare on the smaller screens and how cumbersome do you find the larger 17” MacBook Pro?

For a laptop of its size, the 17” MacBook Pro is remarkably thin and light. But I did find it cumbersome to use in coach seats on airplanes and to cram into small briefcases. As for the glossy screens, which are now the most common option on many laptops, they bothered me at first, but I don’t notice the glare now. However, both of these are personal issues. So my suggestion is to go to a store and see for yourself.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

I am a longtime Palm user and am wondering if the new Palm Pre smart phone can run all the Palm OS programs I have become used to on my Treo.

The Pre is a clean break with Palm’s former operating system and previous hardware, and was designed as a platform for a new generation of software programs, or apps. It uses a new operating system called webOS, which wasn’t built to run old Palm OS programs.

However, there is a $30 program called “Classic” by a company called MotionApps (motionapps.com) that emulates the old platform and makes your sleek new Pre look and work like an old Palm device. It is intended to allow older programs to run on the Pre inside this virtual environment created by Classic. I haven’t tested it with older third-party programs and so I can’t say how well they work in this emulation mode.

But there are some caveats to this method. First, not all old Palm programs will run inside the Classic environment, or at least run well. The company lists those certified to work well on its Web site. Second, the old apps can’t activate certain features of the Pre, such as the camera. Third, Classic’s maker says it hasn’t yet figured out how to sync the old apps with a computer using Palm’s old, familiar HotSync process.

Can the Palm Pre be used as a modem for my laptop?

Sprint, the carrier that is launching the Pre, says the answer to this question is no. The company says its data plans for the Pre don’t permit that scenario.

I use Time Machine for my Mac, but I would also like the belt & suspenders security of manually backing up my invaluable iCal data on an external hard drive. How would I do that?

It’s easy. Just go into iCal’s File menu, select “Back up iCal…” and you can save a copy of your calendar to any drive connected to your computer, or even to any computer or external drive on a network, or over the Internet, that your Mac can access. To restore your calendar, just go to the same menu, but this time select “Restore iCal…” and then select your backup file.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

I have a PC with Windows XP, which I bought because my computer guru said to stay away from Vista. I read your column saying upgrading from XP to the new Windows 7 will be much more cumbersome than doing so from Windows Vista. So, what should I do now? Upgrade to Vista for a while so I can then move more smoothly to 7? Or wait, buy a separate Windows 7 computer in the fall, and just transfer my files and applications from the XP computer?

Putting budget considerations aside, I think the latter course would make more sense. The new machine with Windows 7 preloaded will probably give you smoother performance than one you upgraded twice to new operating systems in a matter of months. But, bear in mind that you will have to reinstall all your applications on the new Windows 7 computer, and that, depending on the terms of the applications’ licenses, you might even have to buy new copies. On the other hand, if you do the chain of upgrades, and don’t buy a new machine, you may be able to avoid this application problem, or at least much of it.

I appreciated your review of the Clickfree automatic backup drive. Does the backup it creates include the various folders and subfolders for data such as photos, or does it just create a huge single list?

The Clickfree software is primarily designed to back up, display and restore your files by their types — photos, music, text, email, spreadsheets, etc. Once it has performed a backup it lets you view and restore your files by these types. However, it will display the tree of all your folders and allow you to specify where it should search for these files. It also allows you to back up and restore entire folders, such as your My Documents folder, regardless of their contents. Detailed information, including a downloadable user manual, is available in the Support section of clickfree.com.

I am planning to buy one of the products you recently reviewed — a Western Digital My Book — and attach it directly to a port on my Internet router. Can I install antispyware and antivirus programs on the drive? If not, how will the data on this drive be protected?

Nothing is perfectly secure. The bad guys are clever, and you never say never. However, since this product isn’t an actual PC running Windows, viruses and spyware programs can’t likely run directly on it. Still, if one of your computers contains malicious software, and it can see the contents of the network drive, then the data on the drive could be endangered. I know of no way to install or run security programs on the drive. But the security software on your PC may protect the drive, if it is able to handle external drives across a network. Also, the firewall built into your network router will help. The product has some security measures built in, such as encrypting files when you use the optional feature that allows you to access the drive’s contents across the Internet.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

I switched from PC to Mac a year ago, but now I am thinking of adding a Windows laptop. If I do, what kind of compatibility problem would I have? I would be using the laptop mostly to write, to send/receive email and to Web browse.

In the old days, there were compatibility problems, but most of those have gone away. Based on your simple predicted usage, I’d say that you should be fine. For instance, both Macs and PCs can interchangeably open and edit all of the major file types — JPG pictures, MP3 music, Microsoft Office documents, Adobe PDF files, etc. Email and instant messages can, of course, be exchanged between the two platforms, even if you are using different programs. And Macs understand Windows file extensions. Also, you can use both platforms simultaneously on the same home network to access the Internet.

In some cases, you might need different programs to open the same files on the two platforms. But even that obstacle has greatly diminished. For instance, programs like the Firefox and Safari Web browsers, Adobe Reader, iTunes, Microsoft Office, Google Earth, Picasa, Photoshop and many others come in native versions for both platforms that can handle the same files. And, of course, Web-based programs like Gmail and Yahoo Mail work on both. Sometimes, the same programs have different features and user interfaces on Windows and Macs, but I haven’t found these differences hard to master.

The biggest problems for average users are Quicken, whose Mac version is inferior and incompatible; Internet Explorer, which is no longer made for the Mac; and Microsoft Outlook, which is replaced on the Mac by a program called Entourage that is similar but uses a different file format. And networking can be tricky. In general, the Mac does a better job of seeing Windows PCs on a network than Windows does of seeing Macs.

I use Outlook Express for my email, and I store a lot of mail in local folders. Is there a simple way to back these up? If I buy a new computer, can they be transferred?

Yes. There are two methods. One is a manual method, which Microsoft explains in a detailed document at this Web site: support.microsoft.com/kb/270670.

The other, quicker, method is to obtain one of several utility programs that can back up your Outlook Express data and, in some cases, allow you to transfer it to another PC. I haven’t tested these in years, and thus can’t recommend one over another. But one example is a free program called Outlook Express Backup, which can be found at genie-soft.com/products/oeb. Another is a $40 program called Outlook Express Backup Wizard, which can be found at: outlook-express-backup.com.

Do you know of an iPhone GPS application that speaks directions? It would make the iPhone similar to a TomTom or Garvin GPS unit.

A: No, but Apple recently announced that, under its new 3.0 operating system for the iPhone, such programs will be possible. Several companies are believed to be working on them, and I expect them to be available later in the year. The reason none exist yet is partly legal, having to do with the licensing of the underlying maps.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

I saw your column last week saying Apple’s MobileMe now does a better job of syncing contacts, calendar items and email. But will it allow me to sync to my iPhone directly from my company’s corporate calendar, address books and email?

MobileMe is meant for consumer data, not corporate data. Essentially, Apple’s own servers act like a company’s servers in order to bring corporate-style push syncing to consumer data that isn’t kept on corporate servers. To sync your corporate contacts, calendar items and email to an iPhone, you would use a different built-in option in the iPhone: Microsoft Exchange. Assuming your company’s IT department certifies the iPhone as an acceptable device, and your company uses Exchange, as many or most do, you can use an iPhone to perform instant two-way syncing of corporate contacts, calendar and email. It works just like a BlackBerry or Windows Mobile phone in this scenario. I have tested this, and found it worked well.

Is it possible to sync a Treo or BlackBerry using MobileMe? If not, how can I transfer my Treo contacts and calendar items to the iPhone?

While MobileMe is agnostic when it comes to computer platforms, working on both Windows and Macintosh computers, it is single-minded when it comes to handheld devices. It synchronizes data only to Apple’s own iPhones and iPod Touch devices. It doesn’t work with the Treo, the BlackBerry, or any other smart phone or handheld device beyond those made by Apple. One simple way to move contacts and appointments from Treo to iPhone is to use Outlook as an intermediary. First, sync your Treo to Outlook. Then, just plug your iPhone into your PC, launch iTunes, and sync the iPhone with Outlook. The data from your Treo should then be on the iPhone. MobileMe isn’t required.

I can’t find the location of the files contained in my Personal folders in Outlook that contain my contacts and saved emails. Can you help?

To find the location of the single combined Outlook data file that contains your email, contacts and calendar, follow these steps. First, select “Data File Management” from the File menu. A window will open showing the name of your data file, which includes its location on your hard disk. Click the button to the right that says “Open Folder,” and you will be in the folder that contains this file, with the file’s name or icon highlighted. Outlook data files use the extension “pst” at the ends of their names.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

I plan to purchase a new laptop. My uses are primarily Internet searching and email. I don’t play videogames. The salespeople are pushing me to buy a fast processor. Will buying a faster processor improve my slow DSL connection?

Compared to your old computer, any new PC, even one with a midrange modern processor and graphics system, plus more modern network components inside, may well be faster at using the Internet. That’s because things like rendering Web pages will likely speed up, and the computer may be better able to take advantage of whatever DSL speed you have entering your home. But even the fastest processor won’t make your DSL connection itself fundamentally speedier. To achieve that, you’d need to pay for faster service from either your current provider or a competitor.

Will my Quicken finances run on a Mac? And how do I transfer, from a Dell PC, my 2007 Quicken data?

There is a version of Quicken for the Mac, and there is a way to export your data from the Windows version and import it into this Mac version. But, because the two programs are actually very different under the hood, this process can be laborious and too often goes wrong. So, for people switching to the Mac who are devoted to Quicken, I suggest installing Windows on your Mac, and continuing to use the Windows version of Quicken. If you’d rather perform the export instead, you can find the instructions at quicken.intuit.com. Click on “Support,” then on “2007 for Mac,” then search for the keyword “convert.”

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Should I install Microsoft’s “SP3″ upgrade to Windows XP? I hear opinions on both sides.

In general, I recommend this upgrade, officially called Service Pack 3, because it beefs up security, and that helps not only you, but all Windows users, to avoid the spread of malicious software. If your PC is more secure, it is less likely to be used as a source from which other PCs can be infected.

I have upgraded a couple of XP PCs to SP3 without any downside. However, like you, I have also heard from some users that the upgrade caused them problems.

As with any major operating-system upgrade, either outcome can occur, depending upon your computer’s particular configuration and condition. So, if you’re on the fence, consider your level of concern about security.

How do cellular data cards compare with fast cable modems in terms of Internet speed? Are these cards more secure than Wi-Fi?

In my experience, using and testing cellular data cards on various laptops, they typically deliver, in real day-to-day use, somewhere between 300 kilobits per second and 1.5 megabits per second. By contrast, a fast cable Internet service can actually deliver up to 16 mbps. So cable is much faster.

Your security question is much more complicated. Wi-Fi security can range from very poor to quite good. It depends on where and how you use Wi-Fi, how you or others have set up the wireless network, and how you have configured your own computer.

Accessing the Internet over a cellular network is a more controlled process, because the cellphone-network operator manages the transmission, and in most cases supplies and configures the software on your computer. So, it is likely to be safer than the worst Wi-Fi setups. But I would never suggest that cellular data card transmissions are invulnerable to hackers or criminals.

What’s the difference between file-based backup and image-based backup software? Why would I choose one over the other?

Image-based backup software copies an image of your entire hard-disk, including all the programs, settings and obscure files that you never see. While it can be used to recover individual files, in some cases, it is mainly designed to allow you to restore your entire hard disk in the event that you lose it all.

File-based backup software, which is more common among consumers, is typically designed to preserve a copy of only your personal data, the material you can’t re-purchase or re-install if your hard disk dies.

That includes word-processing files, spreadsheets, presentations, emails, contacts, calendar items, photos and other items you created. It also is often used to back up music and video files that would be time-consuming, or very expensive, to re-acquire. And in some cases, it can preserve settings and preferences, such as Web bookmarks.

Both types of backup generally begin with a time-consuming initial session, followed by shorter sessions to update the backup with incremental changes.

Many people choose file-based backup because it occupies less space, and is generally quicker and also less expensive. Image-based backup is for folks who are willing to spend the added money and time to be sure they can restore their whole computer, or clone its contents completely to another machine.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.