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LAS VEGAS—New chips that blur the line between computer memory and storage are starting to move beyond niche applications and could change how we use PCs, an industry analyst said Sunday.

The chips would enable the same instant-on capability that’s common on tablets, but at much higher performance, said Tom Coughlin, founder of Coughlin Associates.

”We’re seeing the development of new solid-state storage technologies that are starting to play a role,” he said. “MRAM is one that we’re seeing playing a role providing a non-volatile memory technology, and there’s some talk about resistive RAM doing some things.”

Conventional memory chips—called DRAM—store ones and zeros using a electrical charge in each memory cell, but Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) uses a magnetic charge. Resistive RAM (RRAM) is based on a sandwich made from two materials, with the center layer having a different resistance to the material that makes up the outer layers.

”Some of these new technologies that have been in the lab and have been finding niche applications have been getting a little bit more widespread,” said Coughlin. He was speaking at the Storage Visions conference happening on the sidelines of the International CES in Las Vegas.