Sony/NEC predicts sub-$100 Blu-ray drives for PCs by year end
In the ongoing push to make Blu-ray hardware more affordable, SonyNEC Optiarc (a joint collaboration between Sony and NEC) has predicted that Blu-ray drives for desktop PCs, capable of reading Blu-ray Discs and reading and writing DVDs and CDs, could go for under $100 (about £60) by the end of 2008.
It’s worth bearing in mind that this is most likely to be a wholesale price for PC manufacturers. Similar drives for notebook PCs could hit the $150 level, while Blu-ray burners will be priced in the region of $150-$200.
Whether this will have a knock-on effect for standalone Blu-ray players remains to be seen, but if Sony and other Blu-ray backers want to achieve greater consumer adoption, they’ll need to drop prices across the board.
(Via Blu-ray.com)
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