As described above, future trends and the synergy with inexpensive solid-state memory will likely emphasize the use of HDDs more in a mass storage mode with a requirement for large data transfers that must be completed rapidly. High capacity and high data-rate will thus be at a premium, with perhaps less emphasis on access time. Such devices will provide the base for the internet’s storage needs. In consumer applications such as ‘set-top boxes’ or digital video recorders (DVRs), cost and capacity are the market drivers and data-rate is less of an issue. Assuming that areal density growth does slow well below current rates but that the demand curve is sustained, we will see HDD sales volumes rise and we will see form-factors packed with the maximum number of heads and disks. Head–disk velocities will likely drop back from the 50 m/s maximum that we see today, constrained both by fundamental limits on data-rate [9] and by the desire to minimize energy consumption and operating temperatures and spin-up times (Fig. 3).