IBM (NYSE:IBM) has claimed its scientists have made a breakthrough in storage technology which would enable small devices to hold huge amounts of information. The company also says it will be far less expensive to produce.
Some of the other value added for consumers would be it wouldn't require as much power to run, would go for weeks on a single charge, and be durable enough to last for decades. It also has the capability to write and store information far quicker than its existing counterparts' hard drives.
As far as the storage capacity potential, I'm not sure that adds much value to a consumer; at least as it relates to songs or films. The iPod is able to store up to 40,000 songs at this time; does anybody seriously want, need or even be able to use more than that? And 3,500 films on it wouldn't do much for consumers either.
At this time not many use the existing technology to watch films, why would they do it simply because they could store it on a device they have no intention of using for that purpose?
Science Behind "Racetrack" Memory
But as Stuart Parkin, and IBM fellow leading the research says, "The promise of racetrack memory - for example, the ability to carry massive amounts of information in your pocket - could unleash creativity leading to devices and applications that nobody has imagined yet."
That makes more sense to me than simply having more storage on a handheld device whose content I could never use in my lifetime.
Even so, the idea of a less expensive, faster working device is worth the effort, even if the way it is used now wouldn't be enhanced much. The long-lasting potential would make it very desirable by consumers, but I'm not sure how good that would be for IBM's bottom line.
This is interesting and has some potential, but as IBM said, it is still in the "exploratory" stage, and it is still probably ten years out before appliations for devices will be available.
Why the announcement then? To encourage the team behind the technology, to keep IBM in the public eye as an innovative company, and to get consumers to anticipate something better coming down the pipe.
I could see this having more potential for business uses than consumers; at least as far as storage and useful applications go. Still, it gives a look at where technology may be going in the future, and how the eventual limits connected to chips will be overcome.
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