4

If something becomes faster, we say this is an improvement in speed.

If something becomes lighter, we say this is an improvement in weight (assuming that a low weight is desirable).

If something becomes smaller, we say this is an improvement in size (assuming that smaller is better).

But how do we best describe, using an adjective, that there has been an improvement in storage capacity? That is, computer hardware has become more ____ (what, exactly?) "Capable" does not sound correct. I am looking for an adjective meaning "having capacity," such that the phrase

improvements in speed, size, weight, and storage capacity

could be replaced with

have become, smaller, faster, lighter, and __________ (new word here)

EDIT:

The difficulty here seems to be the context. I'm talking about computer hardware. The computers themselves have become smaller, but the storage capacities have become larger. If I say "computers have become more spacious" it sounds like the hardware takes up more space. There's something tricky about the container becoming smaller, but the internal storage elements becoming much denser. I don't know how to add a suffix or choose a word for this. "Memory denser" is not good English.

Improve this question
6
  • Voluminous? Unfortunately this can't take the -er, so would have to be "more voluminous".
    – Catija
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 6:11
  • good question!!
    – Fattie
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 6:18
  • Can this be answered by changing the context itself? For ex, computer memories have become more capacious.
    – Harshit Kandpal
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 9:00
  • 2
    I think a key question with regards to providing you with the word you want: do you want to say that "computer memory is smaller, faster, lighter and has more capacity", or that "computers in general are smaller, faster, light and have more capacity"? Capacious would work for the former, but I can't see you getting away with a single word for the latter - it would need clarifying words that you are referring to the memory.
    – AndyT
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 13:42
  • 1
    I don't think a single word adjective will convey the intended meaning. You can just say: "It is smaller, faster and has more storage capacity."
    – ermanen
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 16:12

8 Answers 8

Reset to default
11

It has become more capacious

adjective
1 Capable of holding much; spacious or roomy: a capacious storage bin.

www.dictionary.com

Improve this answer
6
  • Unfortunately the need for more to form the comparative of this word is problematic for parallelism in the example sentence, but it seems to be the right answer.
    – KRyan
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 14:57
  • @KRyan The asker's question explicitly asks for an answer preceded by "more" to fill in the blank: "That is, computer hardware has become more ____ (what, exactly?)"
    – talrnu
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 15:20
  • 1
    To be fair @talrnu the OP does contradict themselves by asking for a sentence with 'more' and also without 'more'...
    – Marv Mills
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 15:25
  • @talrnu Later on there is a quote of an example sentence with “smaller, faster, lighter, and __________ (new word here)” – “more capacious” is awkward in that blank.
    – KRyan
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 15:25
  • @KRyan not really. It is common to have to mix them because of the specific rules.
    – Catija
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 15:27
3

Memory storage has become more dense or denser. As density improved storage size got smaller, capacity got bigger.

Dense

having the component parts closely compacted together; crowded or compact:

Improve this answer
6
  • 3
    Not a great answer, IMO. Density is storage per unit volume. If the storage is denser, but also smaller, there is no guarantee that the actual storage capacity has increased.
    – AndyT
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 13:39
  • @AndyT indeed no guarantee by itself...but this improvement paved the way for bigger storage which in actual fact happened in the market.
    – Bookeater
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 14:01
  • Whoop-de-do. The point is this isn't a computing history SE, this is a language SE. And the word you proposed doesn't actually answer the OP's question.
    – AndyT
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 14:23
  • While @AndyT is probably right (that denser does not mean stores more), in the particular case at hand, they clearly are describing something that denser is appropriate for (smaller ... and stores more). It became smaller and yet still stores more, so it clearly is denser, and that does convey the meaning.
    – Joe
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 18:53
  • @Joe - really? How about this example - I have two bags. One weighs more than the other. Q: What comparative adjective describes this relationship? A: Heavier. It matters not a whit that one bag might contain sugar and the other feathers, and that sugar is denser than feathers. It also doesn't matter that one bag might be very large and the other very small. I'm not looking for the word denser or the word bigger - I am looking for the word heavier.
    – AndyT
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 8:15
2

Consider higher-capacity. Computer memory with lots of storage space is often referred to as "high-capacity storage", so extending this term seems to be a natural fit to your needs.

Improve this answer
1

In that sentence, I would use a transformation of storage capacity, in particular if dense isn't desired. Capable is correct, so long as it is modified appropriately.

Smaller, faster, lighter, and capable of storing more data

That's a very simple sentence and flows nicely, but conveys exactly the meaning you intend without ambiguity. (Replace "data" with something else that is more appropriate as needed.)

Improve this answer
0

The technical term for the amount a disk can hold is storage density, and Wikipedia even has a page on it.

Memory storage density is a measure of the quantity of information bits that can be stored on a given length of track, area of surface, or in a given volume of a computer storage medium.

So, in your case, more dense/denser would be the correct word to use:

have become, smaller, faster, lighter, and more dense.

Improve this answer
1
  • Not a great answer, IMO. Density is storage per unit volume. If the storage is denser, but also smaller, there is no guarantee that the actual storage capacity has increased.
    – AndyT
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 13:39
0

have become, smaller, faster, lighter, and __________ (new word here)

Either more spacious or higher capacity.

Improve this answer
-1

Since mobile phones have become "smart" - your meaning would probably be conveyed by saying that your product is "smarter". (After all, I store more stuff in my brain than most, and that's what they call me.)

Improve this answer
3
  • "smart" in that context is very much a marketing thing... a phone isn't "smarter" it simply has better computational capacity leveraged by software. None of these things correlate to storage capacity directly.
    – mfoy_
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 16:17
  • The manner in which OP was trying to word it, made me assume that it WAS for marketing purposes. (Certainly not a technical assessment.)
    – Oldbag
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 16:35
  • Smarter is as good an answer as "better" or "cooler". It provides virtually zero information about storage space, which is the entire point of the asker's question. A device can be "smarter" and have no better storage space than the other devices it's being compared to. It might even just look nicer and otherwise have identical technical specs.
    – talrnu
    Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 17:03
-1

You could borrow this word from The Simpsons: "embiggen"

embiggen (third-person singular simple present embiggens, present participle embiggening, simple past and past participle embiggened)

1.(rare, nonstandard) To enlarge or grow; to make or become bigger. Source

Improve this answer
3

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .