Sharp and Mitsubishi have developed faster laser diodes for rewritable DVD drives that are capable of delivering 4x writing speeds, according to Macworld UK. The new laser diodes will be available by May, paving the way for faster DVD writers to become available later this year. The next speed hike in rewritable DVD drives (6x) is not expected until sometime in 2003. Current DVD recorders, such as Apple’s SuperDrive, top out at 2x, requiring about 30 minutes to burn a full 4.7GB DVD.