Postage-size memory: 1GB!

[LEDagent]

I was on one of my mobile phone forums (Howardchui.com) and stumbled upon some really cool news from www.Mobile-Review.com

i'll re-type the info here:

Holographic memory for handsets
Author: Korotkov Maxim Source:Info-mica.com

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) announced Feb 12 that it has developed a prototype of a new high-capacity memory storage device, designed with a multi-layered waveguide structure and based on thin-film holography.


The company has produced a 100-layer postage stamp-sized media prototype with a 1GB memory capacity constructed from plastic material, and a small prototype drive for reading data. The new memory is named Info-MICA (Information-Multilayered Imprinted CArd) because it has a layered structure similar to that of a mica stone, according to NTT. Compared with existing memory devices, Info-MICA offers the drive which is small and its power consumption is very low, so it is suitable for mobile devices.

Cool huh?

 

[nisshin]

Imagine putting one of these in an Arc4 flashlight! Think of the millions of modes (and click combinations) you can have!

nisshin

 

[Saaby]

Probably cheaper to make, so they'll charge more for it. Yee haw! Gotta love profit margins.

 

[Harrkev]

SanDisk already has a 1GB SD card, which is also the same size as a postage stamp.

http://www.brighthand.com/article/SanDisk_1GB_SD_Card_Now_Shipping

I would also expect the solid-state electrical media to be harder to damage, as the optical media shown above seems like it might scratch easily. Plus, the SD card only needs 8 or 9 electrical pins to read/write. No lasers/lenses needed.

This is certainly cool, but I do not expect it to be that meaningful...

 

[LEDagent]

Oh wow Harrkev! I knew they had a 512MB SD card, but not a 1GB! I think 499.99 is reasonable for something so small. Imagine the applications for PDA's, camera's, mp3 players.....

When do you think the price will come down to $100 dollars or so. hehehe.... I remember when the 128Mb SD card use to cost a pretty penny...now you can get it for 30-40 dollars. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Tree]

Cool, maybe they'll put a slot for it in this computer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[K A]

While maybe not the size of postage stamps. There are 4GB Compact Flash memory cards out there. You will pay a pretty penny for those too.

 

[Darell]

Who is ready to standardize on ONE format? Raise your hands!

I have so many devices that require memory, and I hate having to buy different formats for the different devices. Grrr.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I don't ordinarily keep abreast of this sector of technology, but have found this post to pique my curiosity.

My wife has a 1GB IBM Microdrive in her HP PDA. She purchased it for under $180.00 last year.

On my recent trip, my staff technogeek brought along a 11 megapixel digital camera with interchangeable lenses and two, 4 GB compact flash cards. After 3 weeks, he was still using the first CF card on the lowest resolution and captured over 1300 images.

This stuff amazes me. I carried two of those disposeable 35mm cameras. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[GJW]

[ QUOTE ]
K A said:
While maybe not the size of postage stamps. There are 4GB Compact Flash memory cards out there. You will pay a pretty penny for those too.

[/ QUOTE ]

About a month ago, Amazon.com was selling a 4GB MP3 player for $99.
PPC users were buying them like crazy because it was alledged that the internal microdrives were not soldered in place.
Supposedly you could crack open the device, extract the hard drive, replace it with a cheaper/smaller CF card, and end up with a fully functional MP3 player as well as a 4GB hard drive for your PPC.
All for about $150.

 

[yclo]

Would that be the Creative MuVo player? But that goes for around $200.