DATAPLAY PUTS DISC INTO PLAY

DataPlay will introduce its new "DataPlay disc" today at the Spring Internet World conference in Los Angeles. The postage stamp-sized optical discs can hold four hours of CD-quality music.

The discs can be prerecorded or serve as a blank medium for downloads and other customer-recorded content, for playback on portable devices. Blanks are expected to sell for $5-$10, much cheaper than blank "flash" cards used in the portable-player market.

The DataPlay system also includes a locked-content feature for the discs, dubbed ContentKey, that will allow for Web-based post-retail activation and/or sale of additional content on the discs.

Though the discs will be compatible with multiple copy-protection systems, they will not work on existing hardware. DataPlay will license or sell the necessary technology to consumer electronics manufacturers and work with software companies on the mastering of prerecorded titles.

DataPlay Chairman and CEO Steve Volk says that DataPlay has several hardware and software partners, although he declined to name them.

DataPlay hardware is slated to debut at the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show in January.