Or not.

On DVD Review's site, I found this little news note. Can't vouch for the validity though...

Quote:
Sharp ends the high def wars?

Sharp has made quite an amazing announcement, and one that has slipped almost completely under the radar.

Sharp has just announced the release of a new optical disc player that will allegedly be the smallest player ever produced. In and of itself, this is mildly interesting. But more interesting is that it is capable of playing CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray and HD DVD. That's right a dual format player, that could potentially eliminate the need to worry about formats. Thre press is very vague on the availability of this on a consumer level. But the player, be it a consumer item, or component is expected to cost less that $100 and begin shipping next month. If this is indeed a cross platform player, the news will certainly appear here soon.

We will see.

According to a french article I just found, dated from last december, Sharp has been mass producing blue laser diodes since November.  The diode reads all current formats.  Sharp says they have invested 'billions of yens' to build the production line.

Their goal was to end the format war by selling blue laser diodes exclusiveley, making the price of the diodes drop from 50 euros to about 20 by January 2007, a price that could be cut in half by the end of the year.

English article about this.

The DVD Review article was a misinterpretation. It is not the world's smallest player, but rather the world's smallest blue laser which will go for $100.

Sharp readies world's smallest blue laser for BD and HD DVD
Sharp -- the company behind the world's largest LCD panel -- just introduced the world's smallest blue laser for current generation optical players. Right, as in Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats -- your choice OEMs. Measuring just 3.3-mm in diameter, the GH04020A4G semiconductor will be available in ¥12,000 ($99) sample quantities starting June 13th before ramping up for mass production later in July. The device will suck 10mW from your laptop's battery while offering at least 10,000 hours of operation before giving up the ghost.