Coexistence

Inbox:Could peace be breaking out in the brave new world of next-generation DVDs? Not quite, but it looks increasingly like the two new DVD formats will live side by side, argues Mike Butcher.

Perhaps not in harmony, but at least with grudging respect, it seems.

This, hopefully, will make it easier to pick the DVD player of your choice in future.

The Blu-ray format, invented and pushed by Sony, and the HD DVD version, backed by Microsoft among others, are set to coexist, with neither coming out on top, according to leading researchers Screen Digest.

The thinking goes like this: even though Blu-ray is selling more units than HD DVD at the moment, in the long term both formats will win customers, allowing them to coexist.

This was echoed by the chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, Frank Simonis, in Berlin earlier this month. He went even further, saying the US and Europe might end up supporting different formats.

Japan has already made it's choice - Sony's Blu-ray - as has much of east Asia. In the US, HD DVD is being tipped as the dominant format.

The real reason they will coexist, however, is that it is not in anyone's interests to have a format war. Screen Digest says that if Hollywood film studios decide to support only one format, they would miss out on more than €180 million in consumer spending in 2008 alone. Film studios that have opted to back the Blu-ray format (such as Sony, Fox and Disney) could miss out on €126 million by not publishing on HD DVD.

The one thing that could tip the balance is Christmas this year. So if you are still trying to figure out which DVD format to opt for, you might like to wait and see how things have panned out in January. With any luck, it won't matter. War will have been averted.

By now you will be aware of the launch of the Apple iPhone in the UK, which will be exclusively on the O2 network.

Although Apple lumps in the UK with the Republic in terms of sales for its hardware products, at the time of writing there was no announcement on whether the iPhone would also come to the Republic.

This is in part because the iPhone is not a full-blown, fast, 3G phone and therefore can only make best use of the Internet via WIFi. The absence of a WiFi deal might be the factor holding up the iPhone's arrival here.

The handset will cost £269 (€384) - more than the $399 (€286) it costs in the US. Users will sign an 18-month contract for £35, £45, or £55, but this covers "unlimited" per month usage across the O2 network.