A breakthrough in technology could see the memory capacity of devices such as the iPod increase by 150,000 times, Glasgow University researchers claimed.
Two experts said they had developed a molecule-sized switch which means that data storage could be boosted without having to increase the size of devices.
The biggest iPod MP3 player currently available can hold about 40,000 songs.
However, new nanotechnology could theoretically allow users to store millions of video and music tracks.
Professor Lee Cronin and Dr Malcolm Kadodwala, from the university"s chemistry department, said their work could see 500,000 gigabytes squeezed into a microchip no bigger than a two pence piece.