HP scraps 3GB DVD+RW drive

Hewlett-Packard has announced that it has scrapped plans to roll out its 3GB DVD+RW drive, which was due to ship by the end of the year.

The company claims that the market is not yet ready for rewritable DVD storage products. It said that it would concentrate on developing a 4.7GB DVD+RW drive, which it hopes to bring to market within 12 to 18 months.

HP stated that there was only limited market potential for an interim DVD+RW product. The company said that demand for its high capacity drives would be driven by the rise in the installed base of DVD-ROM readers and DVD video players.

The DVD+RW format is in competition with DVD RAM to become the standard DVD re-writable format. One of the advantages of DVD+RW, which like DVD RAM gives unlimited data rewrite capabilities, is that the discs do not have to be contained in a plastic housing.