Rumours that Microsoft is readying an external Blu-ray player for its Xbox 360 have re-surfaced, this time from unnamed market sources, who claim that Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp., have been contracted to bring the machine to retail.

Xbitlabs has a report claiming that the joint venture between Samsung Electronics and Toshiba Corp will see the new Blu-ray drive come in at a competitive price, rumoured to be between "$100 - $150 price-point" to compete with the PS3 and its built-in Blu-Ray.

Earlier this year, Microsoft ceased production of the HD DVD add-on for Xbox 360 and has always said that it would look at releasing a Blu-ray player should the format take off.

It's one rumour that just won't go away and Microsoft has responded with a resounding "no comment", but with XBitLabs going a bit further than most with its report, claiming that the device is already in production, could it indeed be true this time around.

For now we can only speculate, but if true, with Blu-Ray player sales still slacking, it seems unlikely that Microsoft would launch the player this side of Christmas. It's been suggested that the Consumer Electronics Show in January could be the ideal launch pad.

Source :: XbitLabs