On Tuesday, Toshiba will unveil the first slim-type HD-DVD writer drive suitable for use in laptop computers.The SD-L902A drive is the standard 12.7 millimeters high, which means it can fit in the drive bay of most laptops. It can read and write HD DVDs, DVDs and CDs, Toshiba said Monday.It will be shown at the Ceatec show, Japan’s biggest electronics exhibition, which begins Tuesday. At last year’s Ceatec, Toshiba debuted its slim-type HD-DVD reader. The first laptop to feature the drive, its Qosmio G30, went on sale earlier this year. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe Samples of the new writer drive will be available to PC makers by the end of this year, and if it follows the same path as the read-only model, it could be on sale in laptops in 2007. HD DVD is one of two formats battling to replace DVD as the de facto storage standard for high-definition movies. In addition to their home entertainment applications, the discs can be used to store data. A single-sided HD DVD-R can store 15GB of data. A disc for the competing Blu-ray Disc format can store 25GB on a single side.This year’s Ceatec is expected to see the unveiling of several new products for the two new formats. The show will kick off with a Sony news conference at which the company is promising a new Blu-ray Disc product. Sony hasn’t said what it will be, but the company recently showed a prototype Blu-ray Disc video recorder. A similar prototype recorder was also recently displayed by Hitachi. -Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau)Related Links: Toshiba to Launch New HD-DVD Players in U.S. HD-DVD, Blu-ray Dual Format Disc in the Works? Report: DVD Format Wars to End in Draw Prototype 3-Layer DVD, HD-DVD Disc Developed Microsoft Xbox 360 to Get HD DVDCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content news CIO Announces the CIO 100 UK and shares Industry Recognition Awards in flagship evening celebrations By Romy Tuin Sep 28, 2023 4 mins CIO 100 IDG Events Events feature 12 ‘best practices’ IT should avoid at all costs From telling everyone they’re your customer to establishing SLAs, to stamping out ‘shadow IT,’ these ‘industry best practices’ are sure to sink your chances of IT success. By Bob Lewis Sep 28, 2023 9 mins CIO IT Strategy Careers interview Qualcomm’s Cisco Sanchez on structuring IT for business growth The SVP and CIO takes a business model first approach to establishing an IT strategy capable of fueling Qualcomm’s ambitious growth agenda. By Dan Roberts Sep 28, 2023 13 mins IT Strategy IT Leadership feature Gen AI success starts with an effective pilot strategy To harness the promise of generative AI, IT leaders must develop processes for identifying use cases, educate employees, and get the tech (safely) into their hands. By Bob Violino Sep 27, 2023 10 mins Generative AI Innovation Emerging Technology Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe