Small form factor information storage devices for mobile applications in Korea

Recently, the ubiquitous environment in which anybody can reach a lot of information data without any limitations on the place and time has become an important social issue. There are two basic requirements in the field of information storage devices which have to be satisfied; the first is the demand for the improvement of memory capacity to manage the increased data capacity in personal and official purposes. The second is the demand for new development of information storage devices small enough to be applied to mobile multimedia digital electronics, including digital camera, PDA and mobile phones. To summarize, for the sake of mobile applications, it is necessary to develop information storage devices which have simultaneously a large capacity and a small size. Korea possesses the necessary infrastructure for developing such small sized information storage devices. It has a good digital market, major digital companies, and various research institutes. Nowadays, many companies and research institutes including university cooperate together in the research on small sized information storage devices. Thus, it is expected that small form factor optical disk drives will be commercialized in the very near future in Korea.