image displaying incorrectly

Am I right in thinking there is a difference between
var image = require("Storage").read("image.img"); // pointer to image.img in flash
and
var image = atob("FrrCAP//Gq657wAA...AAAAA=="); // decoded image lives in RAM
though?

Offtopic: now I'm thinking about storing multiple images (uncompressed) into a single file, using either Graphics.drawImage(…, {frame:<frame>}) or Storage.read(…, <offset>,<length>), wondering if it might help with RAM usage of layouts that use a bunch of icons.