CD-RW Disc Price Declines to 200 Yen in Japan
July 13, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Prices of CD-RW discs have declined to a level that is sufficiently low to trigger an explosion in popular use.
Prices have fallen constantly, from 1,500 yen at the end of 1998; to 1,000 yen in February 1999; and to 400 yen in June 1999. A record low price of 200 yen appeared in July in Tokyo's Akihabara district, the biggest PC shopping district in Japan.
The lowest price of a CD-R disc is about 100 yen. CD-R devices have become popular in recent months, mainly because of their price reductions.
However, now that the difference in prices between the CD-R and CD-RW discs is slim, there is a possibility that the CD-RW will become more popular because the discs have a rewritable capability.
Because of such a trend, Ricoh Co., Ltd., Japan's biggest producer of CD-RW discs, reduced its price by about 50 percent. Ricoh's disc was priced at 1,500 yen as of June 1999. It plans to start selling the disc at a retail price of 2,480 yen for a set of three discs in July 1999. (122.50 yen = US$1)
(Nikkei Electronics)
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