Xyzzy - I believe the news of note in this post is that this is the first "new" sub-$300 player being sold by a blu ray manufacturer, and the cheapest of the bunch, so it's not unlike the news of the low prices on Toshiba's entry level players (A2 and A3).
Kevin - I don't think you can reasonably expect to see any blu ray hardware manufacturer stop making stand alone blu ray-only players at this point in the game. Unless I've missed something, Samsung has not announced that it will only make dual-format players going forward, and I don't recall hearing any other manufacturers make similar claims. Nor have a read anything that suggests that they are losing money. In fact, I've read the opposite. That's why, other than the PS3, blu ray players have been priced so high (they aren't being subsidized).
The price reductions are exactly what you would expect to see over time. By this time next year, there will be little difference, if any, in the prices of HD-DVD and Blu Ray players. There will be a number of options in the $100-$200 range, and higher end units in the $300-$500 range.
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Xyzzy - I believe the news of note in this post is that this is the first "new" sub-$300 player being sold by a blu ray manufacturer, and the cheapest of the bunch, so it's not unlike the news of the low prices on Toshiba's entry level players (A2 and A3).
Kevin - I don't think you can reasonably expect to see any blu ray hardware manufacturer stop making stand alone blu ray-only players at this point in the game. Unless I've missed something, Samsung has not announced that it will only make dual-format players going forward, and I don't recall hearing any other manufacturers make similar claims. Nor have a read anything that suggests that they are losing money. In fact, I've read the opposite. That's why, other than the PS3, blu ray players have been priced so high (they aren't being subsidized).
The price reductions are exactly what you would expect to see over time. By this time next year, there will be little difference, if any, in the prices of HD-DVD and Blu Ray players. There will be a number of options in the $100-$200 range, and higher end units in the $300-$500 range.