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Disk drives move beyond PCs, servers
San Francisco, Jan 19: Hard disk drives, best-known as the collection of whirring, spinning platters that store data in personal computers, are smaller and store more data than ever. And it`s a business that`s becoming bigger than ever.
San Francisco, Jan 19: Hard disk drives, best-known as the collection of whirring, spinning platters that store data in personal computers, are smaller and store more data than ever. And it's a business that's becoming bigger than ever.
Innovation by disk drive makers such as Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd., Seagate Technology and others has pushed technology advances roughly twice as fast as the pace set by the chip industry. According to Moore's Law, the semiconductor industry is able to put twice as many transistors on an integrated circuit every 18 months to two years.
Hard drives have ventured far beyond their original use in server computers, PCs and notebook computers. New hard drives are finding their way into everything from MP3 players, such as Apple Computer Inc.'s No. 1 digital music player the iPod, to personal video recorders, such as TiVo, that store television programming, and more.
"Not that the PC is a boring thing, but we're now getting to the point where some of these fun, consumer electronics devices are using these hard drives," said Dave Reinsel, worldwide research manager for market research firm IDC.
Market research firm Trend Focus expects hard drive shipments to consumer electronics makers such as Sony Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and others to more than triple to 55 million units in 2006 from an estimated 17 million last year.
Bureau Report
Innovation by disk drive makers such as Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd., Seagate Technology and others has pushed technology advances roughly twice as fast as the pace set by the chip industry. According to Moore's Law, the semiconductor industry is able to put twice as many transistors on an integrated circuit every 18 months to two years.
Hard drives have ventured far beyond their original use in server computers, PCs and notebook computers. New hard drives are finding their way into everything from MP3 players, such as Apple Computer Inc.'s No. 1 digital music player the iPod, to personal video recorders, such as TiVo, that store television programming, and more.
"Not that the PC is a boring thing, but we're now getting to the point where some of these fun, consumer electronics devices are using these hard drives," said Dave Reinsel, worldwide research manager for market research firm IDC.
Market research firm Trend Focus expects hard drive shipments to consumer electronics makers such as Sony Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and others to more than triple to 55 million units in 2006 from an estimated 17 million last year.
Bureau Report