Although the concept could make any mobility geek salivate, research firm IDC dismisses the viability of placing hard disk storage units in mobile phones - for the time being.
Positioned at the center of the mobile device universe, mobile phones are quickly becoming robust multifunctional platforms that will enable mobile users to get out from under the weight of multiple devices. According to new research from IDC, however, the incorporation of hard disk drives (HDDs) into mobile handsets will require a number of further evolutionary steps before HDD-enabled mobile phones will represent a beneficial investment for consumers and enterprises.
 | Despite measuring only 0.85", Toshiba's recently unveiled mini-HDD will face an uphill battle according to IDC
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"The addition of HDD storage will eventually address many of the limitations that have kept converged devices from reaching their full potential," said Alex Slawsby, senior research analyst in IDC's Mobile Devices service. "Handsets already have the killer application of wireless telephony, and adding increased storage will make them a viable option for extensive music, imaging, reference, and business applications."
Today's MP3-enabled phones, for example, can typically store about 8-12 songs of 4 MB each. In contrast, a new breed of HDD-based phone, similar to HDD-based MP3 jukebox players, could easily hold several thousand songs, images, or hours of video. Currently, Toshiba holds the minimum size record for HDDs with its 0.85" drive unveiled in January 2004, which according to Toshiba will be sampling in 2 GB and 4 GB sizes this summer.
Although ultimately promising, however, HDDs have not yet achieved the economies of scale necessary to attract the masses according to IDC. "Cost, size, and power consumption are prohibitive factors," said Dave Reinsel, IDC research manager, Hard Disk Drives and Components. "Flash memory is sill the best near-term option with rotating storage solutions too costly, too large, and too power hungry for all but the highest-end, business-class mobile phones." This will not change until HDD technology improves further and the price of such drives drops below $50 USD, and arguably below $30 USD.
Other key findings in research from IDC include the prediction that increased wireless network bandwidth (3G networks) will continue to drive the need for additional storage capacity on mobile devices; while solid state storage, although more expensive, will continue to surpass the performance of HDD solutions in the vast majority of mobile phones.
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