Wednesday, July 14, 2004
200GB iPod?
Posted by Suhit Gupta in "HARDWARE" @ 02:00 PM
"Not anytime soon, but some day in the near future one could expect an iPod with a massive 200 GB drive, and one would have to thank PMR for it. Perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) will be the next big leap in the hard drive storage technology, and while it is too early to predict its long term business implications, the hard disk drive makers are banking on this new technology. Why? because it changes the current status quo of profitless prosperity in the HDD industry. From 1990 through 2002, HDD makers have given customers more of the same. HDD capacity increased by a compound growth rate of 93% per year, with equally spectacular price declines."
Quick rant first: One of my pet peeves has been the fact that the iPod has become synonymous with all PMPs (just like TiVo has become synonymous with DVR). So this post should actually be - 200GB PMP? But I think the headline 200GB iPod brings more hits so I will have to succumb. :(
On to good news: we can all look forward to PMR hard drive technology to help in increasing the amount of storage in our hand help music/media devices. Currently, hard drive technology works by having the data being stored as microscopic magnets. The magnetization of the recorded bits lays parallel to the surface of the disc. This is called longitudinal recording. In the case of PMR, the magnetization of the bits is oriented perpendicularly to the surface of the disk, like corn stalks on a level field. Read the article to find out more about PMR and how disk space is slated to increase.
Quick rant first: One of my pet peeves has been the fact that the iPod has become synonymous with all PMPs (just like TiVo has become synonymous with DVR). So this post should actually be - 200GB PMP? But I think the headline 200GB iPod brings more hits so I will have to succumb. :(
On to good news: we can all look forward to PMR hard drive technology to help in increasing the amount of storage in our hand help music/media devices. Currently, hard drive technology works by having the data being stored as microscopic magnets. The magnetization of the recorded bits lays parallel to the surface of the disc. This is called longitudinal recording. In the case of PMR, the magnetization of the bits is oriented perpendicularly to the surface of the disk, like corn stalks on a level field. Read the article to find out more about PMR and how disk space is slated to increase.
