A combination of two of the most popular gadgets in recent years, mobile phones and digital cameras, results in an even hotter product, the camera phone.
Next comes an attempt to add the newest marvel, the miniature hard disk drive (HDD), to the cellphone.
If technological hurdles are overcome, a phone that can act as a miniature video player and store some 1,000 songs could hit the market within a year, analysts and industry sources say.
The spread of the technology, which has made possible Apple Computer Inc’s iPod music players, is expected to give a boost to makers of small HDDs such as Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd
“Demand for hard disk drives totals 300 million units a year. Cellphones sell some 500 million. The sheer size of the potential market excites disk drive makers,” said Yukihiko Shimada, an analyst at UFJ Tsubasa Securities.
Read more at Reuters.
