Toshiba aims to put HD DVD disk drives on all its laptops next year. The company is in direct competition with Sony and Blu-ray, as it tries to counter Sony's advantage gained by all those Blu-ray drives sitting in every PS3 console. The move is seen as a significant gesture from Toshiba, as it attempts to gain an edge in the high-stakes next-generation DVD format battle.
Toshiba senior vice president Hisatsugu Nonaka explained that Toshiba should use a similar tactic to that usd by Sony with the PS3. 'The demand is there,' He said. 'people want to watch their favourite movies in high-definition on the road.'
Toshiba, which shipped 9.2 million laptops in 2006, is seeking to land a major blow against the Blu-ray camp led by Sony. However, some observers have noted that adding high-definition drives to PCs could mean higher prices – and that could hurt sales.
Sony shipped 5.5 million PS3s in the year ending March 2007, of which 3.6 million were sold, as the PS3's £425 price tag scared away some potential buyers and convinced others to opt for lower-priced consoles, such as Nintendo's Wii.