Fujitsu to Launch PCs with Blu-ray Drives

[Marwin]

Fujitsu to Launch PCs with Blu-ray Drives

Fujitsu said on Tuesday 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.