Sony kills the floppy disk

Posted: April 29, 2010 by Daniel Vámosi Martinussen

12 years after the G3 iMac dropped support for the 3.5-inch floppy disk, Sony has finally decided to stop making them. The reason is a lack of demand. The surprise is that it took so long.

If you still rely on the massive 1.44MB of space to move files quickly around between far-flung computers, do not worry: Sony will keep the production lines running until March 2011, giving you a year to stockpile things.
You will not be alone though since an apparent “lack of demand” is somewhat relative, meaning that Sony sold a jaw-dropping 12 million floppies merely in Japan during 2009.

Not too surprisingly, Sony cites rapidly plunging demand as the reason (demand apparently peaked in 1995 and has shrunk more than 90% since). Hitachi Maxell and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media, two other major makers, withdrew from floppy disc sales as early as in the spring of last year.

The 3.5-inch floppy has delighted giggling schoolboys with its name ever since its invention back in 1981 and subsequent Japanese launch two years later. Now it joins the cassette tape and the 8-track in fondly remembered obscurity.

Quietly, Sony wrapped up international sales of floppy discs last month, with the exception of India and a few other parts of the world. The company already stopped producing floppy disc drives last September.

Source: tv2.dk