The 3D TV boom isn’t ending. As announced back in April, Toshiba Japan today showed [press release in English] a total of three new Cell Regza LCD TVs, and all of them are 3D enabled and full HD. These are the “CELL REGZA SLIM” 46XE2 (46 inches) and CELL REGZA SLIM 55XE3 (55 inches) plus another 55-inch model, the CELL Regza 55X2 (pictured).

All models have the CELL processor on board and feature what Toshiba calls “Real Time 2D3D Conversion Technology”, meaning (you guessed it) users will be able to turn 2D images into 3D images instantaneously. They all are web-enabled (supporting video-on-demand, for instance), offer REGZA Link, support DLNA, and come with a so-called “Mega LED Panel” (240Hz), next to a 3TB HDD.

The flagship 55X2 boasts a 9,000,000:1 contrast ratio and produces 1,000 cd/m2 brightness, while the other two “just” have a contrast ratio of 4,000,000:1.

You won’t be surprised to hear that specs like these come with a price. Japanese buyers will have to pay $6,800 for the CELL REGZA SLIM 46XE2, $8,000 for the CELL REGZA SLIM 55XE3 and even $11,400 for the 55X2. Toshiba plans to release all models as early as next month but hasn’t said yet when or if it will bring these devices to other markets.

Toshiba organized a big press conference in Tokyo today, and the company did not only unveil a total of 15 new REGZA LCDs for the Japanese market. Perhaps more importantly, Toshiba also announced the development of a new 3D TV.

It seems Toshiba can’t afford to let Sony, Panasonic, NEC, Sharp and Hitachi be the only Japanese tech companies try to create a new business for themselves.

Technical details are scarce at this point, but here’s what Toshiba did say today:

• the 3D TV will be rolled out worldwide this summer
• it will produce “high-resolution images” (whatever that may mean)
• users will be able to switch between 2D and 3D
• it will feature Toshiba’s super-advanced CELL processor
• Toshiba is developing a new engine for it (“3D REGZA engine”)
• they’ll probably offer large-size models only (46 inches and up)
• they’re expecting 3D TVs to account for about 20% of all sales in the high-price segment by the end of the year (in Japan)
• 3D-based Blu-ray devices from Toshiba are to follow the 3D TVs, too

Toshiba has also said they’ll be holding another, 3D-related press conference soon. We’ll keep you posted.

Via AV Watch [JP]

High-end HDTVs have featured internal upscalling tech for a while now, generally garnishing higher prices because of it, but now Toshiba is bringing the goods to the masses. The companies latest LCD lineup, called ZF, sports Tosbiba’s homegrown Cell processor and some proprietary picture enhancing tech labeled Resolution+. When the two of them combine forces, they should produce a sharper and clearer image.

Both the 40-inch (40ZF575D) and 45-inch (46ZF575D) models are destined for a European release shortly. They both spec out with 1080p screens, 30,000:1 contrast ratio, 6ms response, and four HDMI inputs. In good ‘ol IFA fashion today, no word on price just yet.

via PR & Engadget

First aired in the UK on O2, Cell consists of 20 two-minute ‘mobisodes’ about a man locked in prison with a mobile phone and a mystery caller. The show is produced by Endemol and was originally played in the U.S. on Sony’s crackle.com.

Fox plans to broadcast the mobisodes on a UK-only mobile channel, thecell.tv; Fox also has plans for more UK-only mobile sites coming in the fall.

via Mobile Entertainment

It uses 13,000 Cell engines and 7,000 AMD dual-core Opterons, all mounted on IBM Blade servers. The statistics are impressive (for instance, it weighs 500,000 pounds) but I’ll let you check them out for yourself. I think they’re going to using them to “extend the life of our nuclear stockpile.” What a noble endeavor!

Recently, Corel showed off a Cell-optimized version of DVD Movie Factory on a Toshiba’s SpursEngine 1000 (SE1000). The board transcoded 1080p H.264 video to a smaller resolution in about half the time as an Intel Core2 Quad. It’s even more impressive when you read that the li’l Cell is about half as powerful as the big daddy Cell found in the PS3.

If you’re thinking, “Wow, how does that happen?” remember this was a situation where the application was optimized for that specific board. So you wouldn’t get results like this in every situation. Still, it shows that Intel is far from untouchable and while they may rule the desktops right now, these little optimized processors are still excellent choices for more specific systems.

It has not yet been announced how much the RIZR Z3 will sell for, but given the proximity to launch, I’m guessing we’ll know soon.

Reaper [via Engadget]

While I certainly saw my share of phones at CES, I definitely could have used a go on the chair (although I’m probably too misophobic to have sat on it after all the greasy CESers). So what’s the deal with these new products?

. Sanyo claims it can 18 hours of playtime with the corded headset. I’m not sure if that’s while using the phone, so I’ll refrain from commenting on whether that’s good or not.

The M1 also features a 2-megapixel camera that doubles as a QVGA camcorder. Oh and it can be used as a modem as long a Sprint decides not to disable that. It’s available for $200 with the standard two year deal or $350 straight up.

Moving right along we have the Zero-Gravity Massage Chair. It can locate areas of stiffness by measuring changes in pulse and perspiration with Sanyo’s Stiffness Detection Sensor technology (uh huh huh), which is similar to the galvanic skin response used by lie detectors. Once it detects your stiffness it can customize a massage based on its findings. It features two “Zero-Gravity Positions” for completely stress-free sitting. There are about 1000 massage variations so I’m not going to go through all of them, just suffice to say you want one.

The HEC-DR7700K will be available later this spring. There isn’t a price currently available, but judging from the $4,300 pricetag of its predecessor, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say the Zero-Gravity chair is gonna be ‘spensive.

Sanyo

The service takes advantage of the termination clauses that allow users to end their service if they can find someone willing to take on the remainder of the contract. It also lets the transferee avoid activation fees.

CellSwapper charges $15 for successful transfers. It’s sort of limited at the moment because there aren’t many people swapping yet, but hopefully that’ll change before June.

CellSwapper Solves A Very Annoying Problem [TechCrunch]