The reds are still standing firm, despite of blue engage

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Despite the forward march of the upcoming next generation, blue laser diodes used in bothHD-DVD as well as Blu-ray technology, the good old red variant is far from dead.

This is the conclusion made from a 36 page report "The AlGaInP Laser Diode Market" by Strategy Analytics. The market for red laser diodes used in DVD applications will grow at an annual rate of 7% through 2009 to reach $1.5 billion, claimed by this report.

"The current market, estimated to be worth around $970 million, is dominated by Japanese companies such as Sony, Sharp, Mitsubishi and Matsushita, with a market share of about 75% between them. Samsung in Korea is another major producer, while a handful of Chinese and Taiwanese companies make up the remainder.

While the market will grow at around 7% annually through 2009, stiff competition from new entrants in China and Taiwan will mean that an increasing proportion of the devices will be made in South East Asia rather than Japan."