Flash

Interesting discussion on Intel in class today. They are a unique company in that they have actively practiced cannibalization with with their processors, something most companies try to avoid. This, along with their tremendous(revolutionary?) marketing, has helped them dominate the processor market for almost 30 years.

The big question is what do they do next? The PC processor market is fast becoming a commodity and may not sustain them in the future.

One big opportunity may lie in Flash memory. As the price drops and the storage amount increases, it increasingly looks like Flash may be the key technology to drive many of our future portable devices. For example, users still need to decide between the large storage capabilities of the iPod classic (120gb for $250) or the more flashy iPod touch (16gb for $300 or 32gb for $400).
I personally geeked out big time over this decision, first getting a iPod classic then returning it (after opening it. Still not sure how I convinced Target to let me swing that) for the iPod touch. I figured I could manage my large music collection with just a little bit of extra care. But it was annoying to be so close to being able to get all my music, videos and pictures (around 60gb) onto one device.

How long until we can get a moderatly priced flash hard drive for larger devices (i.e. a laptop). I imagine a 80gb hard drive on a laptop would be more than enough for most people. Any extra could be handled by a cheap external drive. A laptop with a flash drive would be way quieter, use less power, and have speed advantages. Hey, maybe it wouldnt take me 35 minutes to boot my work laptop up in the morning!!! Currently Dell offers SSD drives on their top line laptops. It will be nice to see this as an option on the studio series.

I think a Intel branded flash memory card would carry a lot of weight and present a new market opportunity for them. It will be interesting to see how they ultimatly attack it.

Side note:
Ill be in the market for a new PC probably in the next year or so. I think ill spring once Windows 7 comes out. Next step is figuring out if I can just get a laptop to replace my desktop. I spend 85% of my time on my work laptop anyways as I primarily use my home PC for media storage. Maybe a cheap desktop is still all thats needed.