WastedTimes

[hbgator]

TOKYO Fujitsu Ltd. said on Tuesday it would launch desktop personal computers equipped with Blu-ray disk drives in June in Japan, becoming the first company to release PCs compatible with the next-generation optical disks.

The announcement comes one day after Toshiba Corp. unveiled a plan to launch in mid-May notebook computers that can handle HD DVD disks, which compete with Blu-ray disks in the market for high-definition optical disks.

Fujitsu also plans to launch notebook PCs with HD DVD drives in June, catering for both camps.

The new desktop PC from Fujitsu comes with a 37-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) screen and is expected to sell for around 600,000 yen ($5,063), a Fujitsu spokesman said.

He added the notebook PC was likely to retail at about 400,000 yen -- in line with the expected retail price for Toshiba's HD-DVD compatible notebook PCs.

Another Japanese electronics maker, NEC Corp., said on Tuesday it aimed to launch HD DVD-compatible personal computers by autumn this year and that it would consider offering PCs equipped with Blu-ray drives as well if there was demand.

At the core of both DVD formats are blue lasers, which have a shorter wavelength than the red lasers used in current DVD equipment, allowing disks to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television.