IBM announced a seismic invention. This is a new kind of phase change memory (PCM) that can read and write 100 times faster then the current flash drive, remains reliable for millions of write-cycles ( as opposed to the flash drive of just thousands ) and is cheap enough to be used in anything from enterprise-level servers all the way down to mobile phones. PCM is based on a special alloy that can be nudged into different physical states, or phases, by controlled bursts of electricity.

In the past, this technology suffered from the tendency of one of these states to relax and increase its electrical resistance over time, leading to read errors. Another limitation of this is that every alloy cell could store only a bit of data. But IBM employees managed to burn this problem out: not only is their latest variant more reliable, but it can stare four data bits per cell, which means a new breaktrough for the data storage industry. Combine this with the promised 50Gbps interconnect of Intel, which has a similar ETA, and the data will start flowing fater that an open bar on the boss's tab.

Article via http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/30/embargo-ibm-develops-instantaneous-memory-100x-faster-than-fl/