It's anticipated that PCM will initially be considered too pricey once it does in fact become available to consumers, but what product doesn't start off like that? Once prices level out and potential issues are sorted out though, it's predicted that phase-changing memory will kill off flash. Makes sense, since there's no reason to settle for a less dense product when you could have stacks of memory that's just as non-volatile after all. [Ars Technica]

The key for this magic trick is physics and PCM—phase change material—an extraordinary substance used in construction and winter clothing. PCM is capable of storing and releasing heat or cold.

In its original state it is a solid but. Then, when it receives heat, it absorbs it like a sponge liquifying into a gooey wax. As the PCM solidifies it releases the energy at a steady pace, keeping any liquid or room at the perfect temperature. In houses, they achieve this by filling hollow walls with PCM, which absorbs heat from the sun, and then releases it as the atmosphere cools down, keeping the room at a perfect temperature.

The perfect mug follows the same principle: It is made of hollow ceramics. Inside there's an aluminum structure—as you can see in the image above—which gets filled with PCM. When you pour in your hot coffee, the heat gets absorbed reaching your personal optimum level based on the amount of PCM in the cup's interior. According to Klaus Sedlbauer, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, you can customize this on manufacturing. Their perfect cup, however, keeps it at 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit:

Warm drinks — like coffee or tea — are best enjoyed at 58 degrees Celsius. In order to reach and maintain this temperature, we fill the mug with a type of PCM that becomes a liquid at exactly 58 degrees Celsius. Under ideal circumstances, the optimal temperature can be maintained for 20-30 minutes.

I don't know about you, for for me they are not putting this into the market soon enough. [Spiegel]

While the Blue Earth features a gorgeously rendered touch screen front, the entire back is covered with a solar panel. Samsung claims this panel produces enough electricity to place a call any time you want—which is a little tough to believe, given the battery draw of a touchscreen. (To counter these energy shortages, the phone includes an Eco Mode, which attenuates screen brightness while deactivating Bluetooth.)

Even if solar power isn't your thing (you Hummer driving, baby suffocating, evil doer), most of the phone is constructed from PCM, a plastic extracted from recycled water bottles. And there's a built-in pedometer that tells you how many trees you are saving by walking instead of driving (that part may sound made up but it is not).

We have no more specifics at this time, but the Blue Earth should be available in the UK during the second half of '09. [Pocket-lint]

In comparison to flash memory, the statistics are staggering. The new kid on the block is approximately 100,000 times faster, with an increased write speed from 1ms to 10ns/byte. Flash memory will usually cease to function after 100,000 writes/sector, PCM will be able to withstand a hefty 100,000,000 writes/sector, making it significantly more durable.

Obviously there are drawbacks; the production method utilises a lot of energy and writing data will require a higher voltage input. The pros seem to outweigh the cons and we can expect the first steps to ubiquity will be achieved by mid-to-late 2008. [Uberreview]

So why the hell does this matter to you, oh searcher for the USB bust-enhancer? From Intel:

The phase-change memory gets pretty close to Nirvana...

PRAM is the Chosen One in a world where volatile, evil flash memory has invaded our homes. That's because Flash memory relies on trapping and releasing electrons to store information. This process takes long 10 nanoseconds, but more importantly, leads to a limited number of read/write cycles.

But PRAM technology works on a the principles of chemistry, changing a substance like chalcogenide from solid to liquid and measuring that state (similar to RW optical media, interestingly enough). Not only does this process take less time at 5ns, but it supports around 100 million write cycles. Plus, Intel is claiming their test models have a 10-year data retention rate at 85-degrees, making it feasible for archiving your pornography.

Unfortunately, it looks like Intel plans to phase in (no pun intended) the memory as RAM, not as a storage device. Tear. We want some awesome solid fluid state hard drives. Now! – Mark Wilson
Thanks Acacia!

Intel to Sample Phase Change Memory This Year [dailytech]