Fujitsu Ltd said on April 11, it would launch desktop personal computers equipped with Blu-ray disc drives in June in Japan, becoming the first company to release PCs compatible with the next-generation optical discs.
The announcement comes one day after Toshiba Corp unveiled its plan to launch in mid-May notebook computers that can handle HD DVD discs, which compete with Blu-ray discs in the market for high-definition optical discs.
Fujitsu, Japanese chips-to-computers conglomerate, 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 is likely to retail at about 400,000 yen - in line with the expected retail price for Toshiba's HD-DVD compatible notebook PCs.
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 discs to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television. Shares in Fujitsu were down 2.3 percent at 988 yen by midday, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index, which fell 1.94 percent.