They’ve announced it back in June and executed the plan today: Toshiba is now officially a Blu-ray supporter. The company issued a short press release (in English) today, stating Toshiba has applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The BDA is a voluntary membership group aimed at fostering the development of the Blu-ray format on a global scale.

Toshiba took a long time for this decision, as the company buried their own HD format, HD-DVD, as early as February 2008. It also said customers can expect the first Blu-ray players and Toshiba laptops with built-in Blu-ray drives within this year. As to be expected, the word HD-DVD isn’t mentioned in the press release even once.

It’s a good move from Toshiba to finally overcome their pride: In Japan, at least, Blu-ray products are enjoying brisk sales. Blu-ray recorder sales, for example, have been topping DVD recorder sales since November 2008.