Sony has announced the development of a new Blu-ray reader / writer module that is not only smaller than previous components, but promises to be cheaper as well due to a simplified manufacturing process. The new laser housing is less than three millimeters thick, according to the Japanese manufacturer and co-developer Nichia Corporation, enabling it to be incorporated into smaller devices such as portable players. Sony predicts that we'll first start seeing 9.5-millimeter laptop BD drives which employ the module later this year.

[Via Tech.co.uk, thanks Kiwi616]

Samsung got our hopes up and then dashed them. Same with LG. But ever since Ricoh announced its "smart" blue laser diode that can recognize what type of disc has been inserted and adjust the beam accordingly, we've been cautiously optimistic that someone, somewhere would release a drive and / or player that reads / writes both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, effectively mooting the so-called format war. Well, folks, it seem that glorious day may be close at hand, as Pioneer announced plans at Berlin's IFA to manufacture the BDR-103 combo drive (followup to its BDR-101 and upcoming, CD-writing BDR-102 Blu-ray-only burners). So far the company has released little information beyond this product's model number and its hybrid capabilities, but frankly, that glimmer of hope is all we really need to sustain us. We salute you, dear Pioneer, for attempting what so many others have tried and failed to do before; and if in fact you succeed, you will be remembered forever as the savior of HD lovers worldwide.

[Via cdfreaks]

The optical drive industry has been dominated by joint ventures lately, ranging from the Hitachi-LG partnership to the Toshiba-Samsung mashup, so both Sony and NEC knew that they'd better get in bed together if each wanted to remain competitive in the marketplace. The first product resulting from the new Sony NEC Optiarc, an 18x DVD burner called the AD-7170A, is set to hit the market next month -- but competition will still be fierce, as 20x burners are just beginning to see the light of day. Sources quoted by DigiTimes indicate that soon the actual drive manufacturing will be outsourced to Lite-On IT, whose prowess in volume production should complement Sony's skill at developing optical pick-up heads and NEC's chipset design capabilities to allow the JV to produce attractive products at higher margins. Or something like that -- either way, we'll bring you more on this inaugural product (including pics) when it becomes available.

[Via TG Daily]

Watch out BenQ, because your fellow manufacturers over at LG also have a 3-in-1 Blu-ray burner poised for release, and not only does it write to BD-R discs at a blistering 4x speed, it's coming to market several weeks before you're getting your BW1000 out the door. In fact, LG's Taiwanese subsidiary is claiming that the GBW-H10N internal drive will hit Chinese shores in the next few days, and at only $923, it's something of a steal compared to dedicated players going for $1000 and up. Of course the BenQ model still holds a few key advantages over this unit, most significantly its ability to burn 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray discs as well as its faster write speeds for most recordable DVD and CD formats. So for now it looks like you'll have to decide whether speed or capacity is the more important attribute, but as HDBeat alludes to, more competition in the market means that at least a few next-generation devices will probably have all the features you're looking for.

[Via HDBeat]