From 1 April 2006, Toshiba's Storage Device Division will focus exclusively on the production and supply of Hard Disk Drives, assuming its optical disc drive operations to the Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corporation (TSST). As first announced in September 2003, Toshiba Corporation and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd have agreed to integrate their optical disk drive businesses. This process is now complete and consequently all former Toshiba optical disk drive operations have been assumed by this joint venture, Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corporation (TSST).

According to the official press release (Sep. 2003), the new joint venture would bring together product and business planning, product development, procurement and sales for optical disk drives (ODD), including CD -ROM and DVD-ROM drives.

TSST is 51% owned by Toshiba and 49% owned by Samsung Electronics and consolidated by Toshiba. The JV is headquartered in Japan, while its wholly owned subsidiary established in Korea will control operations there.

A question yet to be answered is whether the new company will release any Blu-Ray, HD DVD device or combo (HD DVD/Blu-Ray) device, or it will be solely producing red-laser ODDs. Toshiba is the main backer of the HD DVD format, while Samsung has announced that both internal and external Blu Ray drives will be launched simultaneously in 2006 under the Samsung brand name. Someone might claim that the TSST corporation could be for Toshiba a mean of access to the Blu-Ray technology in the future.

A TSST spokesman was not immediately available to comment the news story.