Panasonic shows off Blu-ray notebook drive

It's just a prototype, and since it's being displayed under glass it could be made of cardboard for all we know, but Panasonic is showing off a prototype laptop with a built-in Blu-ray drive at the Ceatac Japan 2005 trade show. The drive is a multi-function DVD/Blu-ray recorder, with the ability to record and play Blu-ray discs as well as recordable DVDs. Sony is also displaying Blu-ray recorders as part of a Vaio-R entertainment system that contains a separate DVD-R drive. Of course, Toshiba is also displaying prototype HD-DVD-equipped laptops, despite announcing that no real units will be out anytime soon, so who knows what's really going to show up in stores.

[Thanks, Alexei]

[Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

I never understand this. How is it a prototype. Let me guess, it looks just like every CD/DVD/CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD... drive ever produced in the last 10 years. I guess it's to match the HD DVD prototype. Does it have 4 spindles and 6 laser pickups that makes it worth seeing?

[Ethan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Even better, it's capable of playing video while ejected!

[John Doe. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Woot. Battle of the PR juggernauts! Lets see who can sling the most BS around.

[kaius @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

haha.. i like that ethan!

new tech: play dvd's without inserting them!
oooooooh!
aaaaaaah!

[KC @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

And the 1-ups-man-ship continues....
HD-DVD can do this...
Oh yeah? Blu-Ray can do this...
Oh Really? While HD-DVD can do this!
....and so on and so on it goes....

This is going to be one heck of a format war! Gonna make VHS vs. Betamax look like a tiny scuffle

[PD @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

totally pointless

[Reid Bode @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

At least theirs can write. The HD-DVD was read only.

[decompyler @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

How about, we skip trying to make the next storage format YAODTS (Yet Another Optical Disc To Scratch), and focus on some durable solid state solutions! .... If you couldn't tell, I hate optical discs. Yes they were good 10 years ago but its time to evolve people. :)

[Anthony @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

#s 1&2 seem pretty skeptical to me. Of course it's a real Blu-Ray drive! Look, the disk's blue and everything! :)