Barely a month after Mitsubishi launched its iSP 149 series of LCD HDTVs, the company is trotting out three new lineups over in Japan. The higher-end MZW series includes the 46-inch LCD-46MZW200 (¥400,000; $3,643) and 40-inch LCD-40MZW200 (¥300,000; $2,732), both of which pack a 1080p 10-bit Diamond panel, 120Hz technology and an October 21st release date. For those with tighter spaces (and smaller budgets), the MX / MXW series spans from 19- (¥100,000; $910) to 42-inches (¥280,000; $2,550), with the most expensive sets offering a Full HD display and the lesser ones topping out at 1,366 x 768. Oh, and it looks as if Funai won't be the only one delivering a Blu-ray / LCD combo, as Mitsu's already working up a concept. Peruse the links below for all the machine translated nitty-gritty.

[Via Impress]

Read - MZW series
Read - MX / MXW series
Read - Blu-ray / LCD combo concept

When Westinghouse launched its 40-inch LCD HDTV / DVD combo unit earlier this year, we really began to think of just how nice it'd be to broaden Blu-ray's appeal by shoving a drive into a new set for those looking for simplicity. Enter Funai -- the company currently responsible for the lowest priced standalone BD deck on the market -- which is reportedly aiming to loose an LCD HDTV with built-in Blu-ray player on the North American market next summer. The company typically brands its wares with names like Sylvania, Symphonic and Emerson, so we wouldn't expect the highest-end stuff here. That said, we're glad to see someone taking this very necessary step, even though you won't catch us recommending 'em to anyone but the technologically challenged. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

[Via CrunchGear]

If you're having a tough time picking a storage solution, the Drobo folks may have just made your choice a lot easier. Starting today, the company is offering the first-ever bundles of its much-loved drive array with Western Digital GreenPower SATA hard drives in 2TB and 4TB configurations at a pretty deep discount. Besides knocking $50 off the price of a standalone Drobo (reducing the cost to $449), the 2TB and 4TB versions will clock in at $749 and $1075 apiece, giving you a savings of up to $528. The deals require a mail-in rebate, and you can still add any type of drive you want. Hit the read link for all the info, and for the love of all that's sacred... start backing up!

It seemed like the Deluo GPS-in-a-mouse combo was going to be a one-off deal, but our attitude is changing thanks to a recent discovery at the FCC. According to the agency's reports, GPS navigation mainstay Garmin is planning on producing a wireless mouse, and while the existence of a GPS receiver in the peripheral isn't clear, we'd have to assume that given the company's past, they're probably not just knocking out a regular old AA-battery-powered mouse to boost profits. Does this mean we'll be seeing a wave of mouse / GPS match-ups, and does the combination make any sense? What do you -- the clever, good-looking, and infinitely talented reader -- think about it?

Update: Thanks to a helpful reader, we've unraveled the mystery of this Garmin device, which appears to be this RF wireless mouse (or some variant of it), used to control the company's marine navigators... now, on to finding out who's really behind the JFK assassination.

Regrettably, there's not a lot to go on just yet, but DigiTimes has it that HP will soon be launching "next-generation PCs with a Blu-ray / HD DVD dual-format burner." The announcement was reportedly issued at a product presentation held in Singapore, and while no model numbers were doled out, we can purportedly expect the two-faced machines to land in Europe and America sometime next month. Notably, HP has hemmed and hawed between formats in the past, but we're all for a rig that burns (and reads) both.

[Via TG Daily]

Currently, there's just not a whole lot of options when you're scouting a pre-fabricated rig that does both HD DVD and Blu-ray on a single optical drive, but adding one more to mix certainly helps. Enter Inteset, which has just announced that an HD DVD / Blu-ray combo drive will be an option in the firm's Maximus and Denzel media server systems. The machines will reportedly come loaded with CyberLink's PowerDVD Ultra software, support 7.1-channel surround sound, and sport an array of ports including audio in / out, DVI / VGA / component / S-Video, USB, FireWire, and antenna inputs for the TV tuners. 'Course, since the company recommends that you "contact a dealer for pricing," you should assume that this here HTPC won't run you cheap.

Okoro Media Systems has been Blu-ray savvy for some time now, but apparently it's looking to bring the peace with a dual-format combo drive in its BX series of HTPCs. The BX100 resides in a fairly slim 4.13-inch tall enclosure and includes an Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 350-watt power supply, optional seven-inch touchscreen, your choice of operating system and media center software, 500GB of hard drive space, NVIDIA's 256MB 8500 GT graphics card, a total of three TV tuners, and a smorgasbord of ports including PS/2, FireWire, serial, optical / coaxial digital audio outputs, two DVI ports, VGA, component, S-Video, composite, Ethernet, and four USB 2.0 connectors. The beefier BX300 steps up to a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 CPU, 1TB of storage spanning two 500GB drives, NVIDIA's 256MB GeForce 8600 GTS graphics card, and a 7.1-channel sound card. Both systems look to be available as we speak with a built-in HD DVD / Blu-ray combo drive, and while the BX100 can be yours for $2,995, the base BX300 will run you an extra $600.

[Via PCJoint]

Warner Home Video's press conference concerning the Total Hi Def disc that has HD DVD and Blu-ray all on one disc is currently ongoing, and it stated that the discs are able to contain dual layers of both HD DVD and Blu-ray on one disc. The first Total Hi Def releases will hit in the second half of this year, but no specific titles have yet been announced. At the conference, Warner used a copy of Superman to show off how it worked in an HD DVD player, Blu-ray player, and the recently announced LG Super Multi player that plays either. Finally, Warner claims it will not cost "materially" more than a regular disc. At the conference, already an exec from Best Buy has come out in support of the format, but whether or not other studios would ever pick up on Total HD releases is still unknown, although Warner claims they would not have to pay any licensing fees to Warner for using it. For more information, check out our live coverage of the Warner Home Video press event.

Not to be outdone with just a combination set-top Blu-ray/HD DVD player, LG has also announced the GGW-H10N combo standalone drive for computers. The drive -- which presumably incorporates the same Broadcom integrated chipset as the BH100 -- can read both blue-laser formats, but only writes to Blu-ray or standard DVDs and CDs. According to the LG press event from Sunday, the PC drive will support all iHD functionality for HD DVD titles, whereas the set-top box will not due to hardware limitations. The SATA drive is set to be released before the end of January for $1200.

[Thanks, Khattab]

At Pioneer's CES press conference it announced both its new plasma display technology and a new half height Blu-ray drive for PCs. Titled the BDC-202 combination Blu-ray disc drive it unfortunately isn't quite the "combo" drive we might have expected. No HD DVD compatibility is in store from Pioneer but this drive is still special, able to read BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE discs at 5x, dual layer recordable Blu-ray discs at 2x while also service as a DVD/CD read/write drive. As long as Blu-ray is your format of choice this is the type of drive that is most likely to end up in the PC of someone who wants to watch Blu-ray movies on their PC, but doesn't need to be able to author them or back up large files. Also, by forgoing Blu-ray burning capability it should (hopefully) be significantly cheaper than current Blu-ray burners (pictured) on the market. No price yet, but the drive should be available in the second quarter of this year.

LG's on again / off again combo HD DVD + Blu-ray player is -- at least for this week -- on again. To recap: After showing the BD199 Blu-ray player at last year's CES, the company abruptly shelved it and promised a combo player to end the high definition format war. Then this fall the company backed off those plans, reaffirmed its status in the Blu-ray camp and even showed off the BD100 Blu-ray player in London as recently as November. Now LG promises that not only is the dual format player coming, we'll be able to see it next week at CES. No word on if it contains any of the hybrid hardware we've heard so much about in recent months, but the company has promised details on pricing and availability in Las Vegas. With neither format projected to make a large dent in declining DVD sales this year, perhaps an end to the format war is just what they need to get things rolling... or cause more confusion and hesitation amongst potential customers.

[Via CE Pro]

Nothing like a little false hope to brighten your Saturday, right? Of course, we hope the current stalemate in the Blu-ray / HD DVD war actually yields a combo player, but after the on-again / off-again (and again) love affair with the idea, we're not holding our collective breath. Nevertheless, it seems that the current state actually doesn't have one format trouncing the other as many believed would happen after a few months unfolded. Essentially, consumers are "generally indifferent" to the two, and considering there's just seven more HD DVD titles currently available than BD titles, it doesn't look like one or the other will win on sheer studio popularity. While we've seen the Blu-ray-equipped PS3 outsell Microsoft's HD DVD drive 5 to 1, there isn't much substance in such a statistic, but apparently Taiwan-based manufacturers are rethinking their previous denials of unleashing a player that handles both discs. DigiTimes has it that Samsung is "planning to offer dual-format recorders that can record and play back BD and HD DVD movies," while Hitachi (a devout member of the BDA), is also "considering production of dual-format devices." They also went so far as to point out the obvious when noting that a "dual-format device would be more expensive than a single-format unit" -- but hey, it's likely cheaper than buying one of each, eh?

You know, it's still hard to get used to a new Polaroid product doing anything other than snapping pics. Well those are days long gone, so blot your eyes old timers and check the new MGX-0550 -- Polaroid's new SiRFstar III, WAAS-enabled, 12-channel GPS and DVD / CD playin' combo device. That 5.6-inch touchscreen delivers your choice of kid squelching vids or the most relevant of the pre-loaded maps covering the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. And yeah, the MGX-0550 will interrupt your media fix to provide the latest navigation instructions over its built-in FM transmitter through your car stereo system. When you arrive, be sure to drag the MGX-0550 along since DVDs will play for another 3 hours off rechargeable battery. No pricing or availably yet, but then again, how much do you care?