IBM's 'racetrack' technology could increase iPhone storage tenfold
A new form of digital storage technology under development at IBM could deliver more than tenfold increases in both the storage capacity and battery life of handheld gadgets like Apple's iPod and iPhone, according to the company's claims.
A paper published in the current issue of Science and covered by the United Kingdom's Times Online describes the technology along the lines of NAND flash memory, only faster and with considerably longer expected lifespan.
Dubbed 'racetrack' memory, it's said to store information inside the walls that exist between magnetic domains, such as those arranged on the surface of a silicon wafer. Thus, information moves around the columns at extremely high speeds compared to traditional storage mediums -- hence the racetrack name.
Scientists at IBM say the technology could pave the way for devices such as digital media players that can hold about a half million songs, cost far less to produce than today's models, and run on a single battery charge for weeks at a time.
"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," said Stuart Parkin, who leads the team of research for IBM out at the company's research centre in San Jose, Calif.
He added that racetrack memory could lead to the development of "'three-dimensional micro-electronics', breaking with the tradition of scientists trying to fit an ever greater number on transistors on an ultra-thin piece of silicon shaped like a wafer."
Although still exploratory in its current form, IBM expects racetrack memory to begin cropping up in electronic devices within the next ten years.
A paper published in the current issue of Science and covered by the United Kingdom's Times Online describes the technology along the lines of NAND flash memory, only faster and with considerably longer expected lifespan.
Dubbed 'racetrack' memory, it's said to store information inside the walls that exist between magnetic domains, such as those arranged on the surface of a silicon wafer. Thus, information moves around the columns at extremely high speeds compared to traditional storage mediums -- hence the racetrack name.
Scientists at IBM say the technology could pave the way for devices such as digital media players that can hold about a half million songs, cost far less to produce than today's models, and run on a single battery charge for weeks at a time.
"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," said Stuart Parkin, who leads the team of research for IBM out at the company's research centre in San Jose, Calif.
He added that racetrack memory could lead to the development of "'three-dimensional micro-electronics', breaking with the tradition of scientists trying to fit an ever greater number on transistors on an ultra-thin piece of silicon shaped like a wafer."
Although still exploratory in its current form, IBM expects racetrack memory to begin cropping up in electronic devices within the next ten years.
Comments
A new form of digital storage technology under development at IBM could deliver more than tenfold increases in both the storage capacity and battery life of handheld gadgets like Apple's iPod and iPhone, according to the company's claims.
A paper published in the current issue of Science and covered by the United Kingdom's Times Online describes the technology along the lines of NAND flash memory, only faster and with considerably longer expected lifespan.
Dubbed 'racetrack' memory, it's said to store information inside the walls that exist between magnetic domains, such as those arranged on the surface of a silicon wafer. Thus, information moves around the columns at extremely high speeds compared to traditional storage mediums -- hence the racetrack name.
Scientists at IBM say the technology could pave the way for devices such as digital media players that can hold about a half million songs, cost far less to produce than today's models, and run on a single battery charge for weeks at a time.
"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," said Stuart Parkin, who leads the team of research for IBM out at the company's research centre in San Jose, Calif.
He added that racetrack memory could lead to the development of "'three-dimensional micro-electronics', breaking with the tradition of scientists trying to fit an ever greater number on transistors on an ultra-thin piece of silicon shaped like a wafer."
Although still exploratory in its current form, IBM expects racetrack memory to begin cropping up in electronic devices within the next ten years.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
Although still exploratory in its current form, IBM expects racetrack memory to begin cropping up in electronic devices within the next ten years.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
I was on the edge of my seat until I read the last bit.
Put the new drives in the 3rd gen iPhone (post 3G) , release it in June 2009 , effectively and severely crippling, and practically wiping every cell manufacture from existence in a single year..........all but Nokia because there will always be a market for junk
OR, Apple could dump a ton of it's cash reserves to speed up the development of this technology claiming exclusive, somewhat exclusive or non exclusive... rights from IBM to it's use.
That wouldn't be very smart. Who knows what other advances in memory storage will crop up in the next few years?
10 years
I remember when the concept of storing a catalogue of songs on a memory chip was something that would be possible in a decade or two... Now there are kids running around who can't conceive of a world without iPods.
10 years might seem like a long time...but then you turn around and there it is.
10 years might seem like a long time...but then you turn around and there it is.
Yeap! and as the 10's of years roll by it seems to get quicker and quicker each time...
OR, Apple could dump a ton of it's cash reserves to speed up the development of this technology claiming exclusive, somewhat exclusive or non exclusive... rights from IBM to it's use.
Put the new drives in the 3rd gen iPhone (post 3G) , release it in June 2009
I'm not sure if even an infinite amount of money is going to make it happen that quickly. If a new fab or new equipment needs to be made to mass produce this type of circuit, that blows the timeline right there.
It doesn't even sound like they've actually fabbed a single sample of a functioning chip yet, it's a concept under research.
...in ten years time.
.........all but Nokia because there will always be a market for junk
If you are referring to the lower end phones that you get for cheap when signing a contract with a service provider, I might agree with you.
I have traveled worldwide with their E-Series phones and they are the best I've ever used - including the iPhone.
This is cool news, I guess well have wikipesia in our pocket soon! (as if we don't already!)
You don't need to quote the entire article to say that.
By the way, I think it's possible. Maybe the Wikipedia database is about 20GB in total, the data isn't up to date.
http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesDatabaseSize.htm
Hey it's 10 years from now, if you can come up with a better prediction I'd like to hear it!
Jimzip
Racetrack memory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racetrack_memory
Although still exploratory in its current form, IBM expects racetrack memory to begin cropping up in electronic devices within the next ten years.
10 years? This is unlikely to see the market. It's only a research project at this point. Mention it to us again when it's 18 months out.
A new form of digital storage technology under development at IBM could deliver more than tenfold increases in both the storage capacity and battery life of handheld gadgets like Apple's iPod and iPhone, according to the company's claims.
Scientists at IBM say the technology could pave the way for devices such as digital media players that can hold about a half million songs, cost far less to produce than today's models, and run on a single battery charge for weeks at a time.
The iPhone wasn't all it could be without 3G. I say the iPhone isn't all it could be without tenfold increase in storage and run on a single battery charge for weeks at a time. Hmmmpppfff. Some can wait for the 3G iPhone, but I'm waiting for the "Racetrack" iPhone! And waiting, and waiting...
10 years? This is unlikely to see the market. It's only a research project at this point. Mention it to us again when it's 18 months out.
I was about to mention this timeline, which would have lead right into my laughter about the spin on this story. IBM has no connection with iPhone, making this the silliest headline of the day.
Give the whiners something else to add to their list of things the iPhone has to have before they would even consider EVER purchasing an iPhone:
10g
7.3TB racetrack memory
Neural "Handsfree" Interface
Will play Crysis at 170fps
Makes coffee in the morning
Might let them get lucky with a human female...
...
Oh... and it has to be available in Canada..
IBM out at the company's research centre in San Jose, Calif.]
Haha. I just rode my mountain bike by there today at lunchtime. I didn't see anything going on from the outside that would indicate that miraculous things are happening in this standard looking office complex nestled in the hills south of San Jose.
(I'm just carping on people who visit Silicon Valley--especially the Apple campus--and expect to see dollar bills floating in the air, engineers jumping from branch to branch in trees, rainbows sprouting from office doors, VCs running around in BMWs handing out cash at the Jack in the Box drive-thrus.)
Invariably, they return home and report to their friends that "Silicon Valley sucks, it's just a bunch of buildings." Honestly, what does one expect?
Go ahead: Chime in with your response of what you would expect to see in a place dubbed Silicon Valley.