As I understand it, EEPROM is a part of a computer (in my case, an AVR microcontroller) which stores data, and holds on to it even when the device completely shuts down. It allows data to be written to it, and read from it.
The problem I am seeing is that it has a finite life, and a pretty short one. In other words, I can only read/write a finite number of times before I wear out the EEPROM.
What I am looking for is a way to achieve the same functionality as EEPROM, but in a small form factor. I suppose I can use something like a microSD card, but I would prefer a solution which does not require the user to buy a memory card. Additionally, I only really need a few bytes of space, at most. Let's just say 1 kB to be very, very conservative. I would be spending more than needed to accommodate a memory card of any sort.
So what are my options? Are there any common IC solutions which would allow me to achieve this kind of data storage/retrieval, without a short life and high cost?