Extra storage is for the young

Is the average 18- to 24-year-old so insatiable that they feel a burning desire for nearly unlimited storage space on their iPod or other MP3 player?

Apparently so, according to a new report out today from KRC Research.

The group affectionately known as "Generation Y" has a reported $2,199 worth of entertainment stored on digital devices, according to the Pennsylvania-based analyst group. And they are hungry for more.

Compare that to the average $1,135 worth of content that KRC found on laptops, MP3 players, DVRs, mobile phones, PDAs, digital cameras and portable movie players in a telephone survey of 1,004 adults aged 18 to 65 years.

The survey conducted last month also found a 60 percent of U.S. adults polled want two to three times more digital storage than they currently have.

Granted, the survey was sponsored by Hitachi's storage division, so the focus on more storage should be taken with a grain of salt. But it does point out some other interesting factoids:

-- 49 percent have between 1-200 GB worth of storage capacity across all of their electronic devices

-- 34 percent have 21 GB of capacity or more

-- 10 percent have more than 200 GB of storage capacity

And then there is that token statement by nearly one-third of those polled who said they wish they had "so much storage that it was never an issue."

The survey said that response was particularly true for the younger set, who on average, reported having nearly 1,200 songs stored -- three times more songs than the average population.