These devices provide direct attached storage that can be used to save user content, such as in a backup, to move content from place to place faster than a network allows or even for expanding the useful storage capacity for some common household devices such as some set top boxes or DVRs.

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Thus affordable flash-based mobile devices will have limited storage capacity and are most useful for a use and delete or on-line access thin client use models.

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While there will be some all flash computers, buying a useful amount of storage capacity at an affordable cost for most users will require combining flash memory with HDDs, either as a hybrid HDD or in a dual storage configuration.

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Flash memory has played an important role in these mobile consumer devices because it is rugged, flash memory chips can be stacked to enable compact devices, it uses small amounts of battery power and enough storage capacity can be included to make these devices useful for some common tasks such as email and media playing.

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Those interested in digital storage and the development of consumer, computer and enterprise technology will want to keep their eyes peeled for development next week and in the future as very useful solid state storage devices assumes greater importance in the overall digital storage hierarchy.

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