Isaiah's Tech

Sony has updated a bunch of their products today and they include the Vaio F, EA, EB, EC, and L. The Vaio F with its 16.4-inch display now has a $50 option so you can increase the GPU to a GeForce GT 425M and it also features a couple of USB 3.0 ports. Continuing the upgrades in the notebook line-up is the Vaio EA and EB notebooks which sport Core i5 CPU options along with ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 5650 GPU which will cost you $100. If you pick the EB or EC notebooks up right now the $50 fee for the Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution displays will be available to you for free - until October 9th. Last, but not least, the company's Vaio L all-in-one PC was also upgraded to feature a Blu-ray burner option.

These upgrades are only available on SonyStyle's American site so Canadians are left out for now. A bunch of their notebooks appear to be "Out of Stock" on the Canadian website, so maybe that means these upgrades will be available soon.

[Engadget]

Panasonic has unveiled more 3DTVs as a part of their Viera line-up and they'll be hitting Japan in late August. Dubbed the 3D Viera RT2B plasma TVs they sport an integrated Blu-ray recorder, an HDD recorder, and you'll need to use active shutter 3D glasses for the effect. These TVs will come in 42 and 46-inch models and they'll be available in Japan starting on August 27th. The pricing is officially unknown but rumour has it that the larger model will be available for the equivalent of $5,100 USD.

[Slash Gear]

Toshiba looks like they have just announced their 3D-capable notebook, dubbed the Dynabook TX/98MBL. This is reportedly the world's first notebook that can play 3D Blu-ray content, so that's big news. The notebook itself features a 15.6-inch LED display with a 1,366 x 768 resolution, an Intel Core i7-740QM 1.73GHz CPU, 4GB of RAM (up to 8GB), Nvidia GeForce GTS 350M graphics, a 640GB HDD, HDMI / four USB 2.0 ports, WiFi b/g/n, a webcam, harman / kardon stereo speakers, and Windows 7 Home Premium. This notebook will go on sale in Japan sometime next month - July - for ¥250,000 ($2,727 USD) which will get you one paid of active shutter glasses and a remote.

[Crunch Gear, Engadget]

We first heard about this over a month ago and NEC has officially announced it as the Valuestar N VN790/BS. Awkward name, I know, but this all in one PC has some unique and interesting features. The display itself sports a 1,600 x 900 resolution and has 3D capabilities but you can turn it off whenever you feel like. On the side, you'll find a Blu-ray player to satisfy your needs. Inside you'll find an Intel Mobile Core 2010 CPU, 4GB of RAM (up to 8GB), a 1TB HDD, an integrated TV tuner, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Inside the box, NEC is nice enough to give you a pair of 3D glasses, but another pair will cost you an extra $67. They also throw in a remote control and a wireless keyboard.

This all in one PC is expected to make its debut in Japan next month (June) for the equivalent of $2,450. So much for 3D not being a premium - that better be a Core i7 CPU in there.

[Crunch Gear]

A new LG Blu-ray player has just hit Amazon in the US and this one is significant. This is LG's first Blu-ray player that's 3D-capable. You can pre-order this player right now (here) for $399.99. According to Amazon, the BX580 will be shipping in 1 to 2 months so it's still quite a ways away. This Blu-ray player comes packed with WiFi with DLNA support, a USB 2.0 port, an HDMI 1.4 port, and CinemaNow, Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, etc. The player itself upscale DVDs to fit your needs.

[Electronista]

Sharp has just unveiled a bunch of HDTVs that will be a part of their AQUOS DX3 line-up. The smallest 32-inch model (LC-32DX3) sports a 1,366 x 768 resolution, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and two HDMI ports. The larger three models, the 40-inch (LC-40DX3), 46-inch (LC-46DX3), and the 52-inch (LC-52DX3) sport a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution along with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, three HDMI ports, and BD-Live support.

All of them pack Ethernet, VGA, USB, and RGB ports as well. You'll be able to record whatever you want thanks to the integrated Blu-ray burner on the side. The prices weren't mentioned, but the smallest (32-inch) model will be hitting Japan on May 20th. The larger three models will be available starting on June 10th.

[Slash Gear]

Sony has just shown off their latest series of notebooks and it's their E Series. They'll consist of the 14-inch VPCEA1Z1E and the 17-inch VPCE1S1E. They'll be sporting Core i3 and i5 CPUs, respectively, and they'll both have Blu-ray options available. Both of these notebooks are expected to hit the UK this May with a worldwide availability following afterward. All you basically need to know is below.

[Gizmodo]

It looks like a new Blu-ray player has just Amazon and it's packing 3D-capabilities. I'm talking about the BD-C6900 which is going for $399.99. Amazon says that this product is now in stock and it's coming with DLNA support along with 1GB of internal storage. Check it out on Amazon here.

Shuttle is hyping up their XS35 nettop launch by demoing what it can do on video. It's running an underwhelming Atom D510 CPU but it's paired up with Nvidia Ion 2 graphics so it still manages to smoothly play 1080p content - whether that's Blu-ray or Flash. Engadget points out that this nettop would be perfect to use as an HTPC so check out the video below.

It looks like the latest rumour of the day has to do with Apple and it's regarding the Mac Mini. Apple is, apparently, looking to update the Mac Mini to include goodies like an HDMI port. This would be great for your HTPC needs. The rumour also states that the Mac Mini could feature a Blu-ray drive as well. We'll just have to see what happens in the future. If this is true Blu-ray will, of course, be on a higher-end model.

[Crunch Gear]

Today we've just heard the latest rumour about the upcoming Nintendo Wii 2 / WiiHD. The rumour states that the next-gen Wii will feature a primary Blu-ray drive with, of course, 720p / 1080p output. It's expected to launch worldwide on the exact same day sometime in 2010. Yes, the current Wii is fairly last-gen (graphics-wise), but it's still the leading console of this gen (between the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3). If a new Wii comes out next year I'd be surprised because it still seems to be selling pretty hot, even though Nintendo is reporting a slight decline in sales.

Oh yeah, we're also hearing that Netflix support will be coming to the original Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo Wii 2 Rumours: Crunch Gear
Netflix Coming To Nintendo Wii: Lifehacker

AU KDDI has just revealed most of their handset line-up for the upcoming holiday season. First up what you see above is the Sony Ericsson Urbano Barone. This handset is a flip phone that features: a 3-inch display, a 5MP AF camera, a microSDHC card slot, and other standards like WiFi and GPS support.

The handset you see below is "KDDI's first Bravia phone, the [Sony Ericsson] U1." This handset has a 3-inch display, a microSDHC card slot, a 5MP AF camera, WiFi / GPS / Bluetooth support, 1Seg TV support, and EF radio. The features that stands out in this handset is the fact that it is "based on Sony Bravia Technology as well as Sony Blu-ray forwarding technology (you can enjoy Blu-ray on your phone by syncing it to a Blu-ray player)." That's pretty impressive - if I had any Blu-ray movies to begin with.

Sony Ericsson Urbano Barone: Akihabara News
Sony Ericsson U1, the Bravia Phone: Akihabara News