CD-RW drives are getting more and more populair, and CD-ROM drives are loosing populairity, this is the conclusion of Lu Shu-tai of the Opto-Electronics & Systems Laboratories (OES).
He expects drops of CD-ROM sales, and a raise of both CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives. The research doesn't tell us when DVD writers will become populair.
Because of a high technical threshold for optical disc drives with recording functions, the market for CD-RW drives is still controlled by industry leaders in Europe, Japan and North America. Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Philips together claim a 40% share with their low-speed models. Sony, LG Electronics, Mitsumi, TEAC, API, Plextor and Ricoh are also major players. Yamaha is currently leading the pack in recording speeds. |
Lu believes that the popularity of CD-RW drives will take away market share from CD-ROM drives but will not affect the continued growth of DVD-ROM. In 2001, the global volume of CD-ROM drive sales will drop to about 80 million units, while the volume of DVD-ROM drive sales will rise to 40 million units. In 2004, Lu expects the total for CD-ROM drives to drop to 35 million units, and DVD-ROM drives to climb near 120 million units.
Source: Digitimes.com
