Now that 2TB hard drives have been with us for over a year, it could be time to move on to bigger and better things, and it looks as though Japanese manufacturer TDK will deliver with the world's first 3.5in hard drive platters to offer a capacity of over 500GB.
The company's roadmap had hinted at 640GB platters back in 2009, and reports now suggest that the increased-density disks could begin to appear as soon as next month.
The transition from 500GB to 640GB will allow hard drive manufacturers to launch 3.5in drives with capacities of up to 2.5TB or 3TB, with four or five platters, respectively.
In the notebook space, TDK's roadmap also suggests that the maximum 2.5in platter density will rise from 320GB to 375GB, paving the way for 2.5in dual-platter 750GB drives.
There's no clear indication as to when the higher-capacity drives will become mainstream, but TDK expects all major manufacturers to adopt the high-capacity platters before the end of the year.
