We like a good netbook that's so small it doesn't have room for any pesky, legacy inputs keeping you tethered to the wall (and thus The Man) -- but we're not sure we'd consign VGA and Ethernet to the Closet of Obsoletion just yet. Onkyo seems to be opening the door, moving the two ports to a USB break-out box on its latest Sotec, the DC204A3. That wouldn't really be a problem if the adapter didn't look to be about a third as big as the netbook itself (see for yourself after the break). Otherwise we have a slender but standard Atom N270 netbook, with 945GSE graphics, 1GB of ram, and a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 display. Notable is the 32GB SSD, which sounds quite nice, but with a ¥49,800 ($529) asking price, you're certainly paying for it. Available to forward-looking Japanese starting at the end of the month.

[Via Akihabara News]

Now this -- this is an interesting character. Part nettop, part HTPC, the Sotec-branded HDC-1L series is a unique mixture of components that are traditionally found in either a diminutive desktop or a media center PC (but rarely both). First and foremost, this little bugger relies on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 230 CPU, and it only packs 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Windows XP, Ethernet, audio in / out, VGA, slot-loading DVD drive, a few USB ports and a remote input. Sadly, there's no integrated TV tuner to speak of, but with a starting price of just ¥59,800 ($640), we suppose you could add one and still come in well under the cost of most pre-fab HTPCs. The box should be available in Japan as early as tomorrow, and it'll purportedly be sold with a number of upgrades and extras for those fond of the bundled approach.

[Via Impress]

Onkyo's latest aren't the most stylish headphones we've ever seen -- far from it, actually -- but those more concerned with audio fidelity and iPod compatibility may be able to overlook the pedestrian design. The wireless MHP-UW2 headphones transmit tunes over the 2.4GHz frequency and come bundled with a handy-dandy iPod adapter that should work with practically any dock-connecting unit out there. We're told it can last around 8 hours before needing a recharge via USB (or AC adapter, should you choose), though it's hard to say when it'll ever ship to any market outside of Japan. Nevertheless, those in and around Tokyo can find the kit next month for ?20,000 ($201).

[Via UberGizmo]

The writing was already on the wall, but it looks as if Onkyo actually won't be pursuing the long lost HD DVD format any longer. According to a Japanese report at Yomiuri Online, the firm will be discontinuing production of HD DVD players following Toshiba's own decision to abandon the format, but it will continue to provide service for customers that already snapped up the DV-HD805. Interestingly, there was no mention of Onkyo's plans in regard to Blu-ray, but nevertheless, yet another red supporter has definitely waved its white flag.

[Via Widescreen Review, image courtesy of Bret Philpot]

Onyko's cranked out a couple slick little audio-oriented desktops and media PCs, and its latest carries the tradition on in fine form -- the new APX-2 HD audiophile PC actually looks more like a high-end shelf system than a PC, if you ask us. The compact unit houses a 1.66GHz T5500 Core 2 Duo, 1GB of RAM, a vibration-isolated 500GB disk and the same digital amplifier found in the PCI-200 sound card, which bypasses Vista's sound mixer and channels audio directly through to avoid HD Audio signal loss. Sadly, this one looks to be Japan-only, but if you're headed out that way, you'll want an extra couple grand in your pocket to snag one of these bad boys.

Have you ever been sitting at home at night, looking at your 19-inch CRT television and listening to your Victrola phonograph and thought, "Shazam! This setup stinks!"? Well, perhaps you're in dire need of an introduction to Onkyo's HT-SP908, a home theater in a box which does everything... and we mean everything. The progressive-scannin', multi-format-playin', 7.1 system offers 90-watts per channel, an iPod dock, XM and SIRIUS radio compatibility, 720p / 1080i / 1080p upscaling, 1080i and 1080p HDMI in / out, component in / out, optical and coaxial audio in / out, plus playback of DVD Video, Video CS, CD, CD-R/RW, DVD+/-R/RW, MP3, WMA, WMV, MPEG 4-AAC, DivX, and JPEG formats. If that's not enough, it also makes lunch, breaks up with annoying girlfriends, and organizes your t-shirts by color. The HT-SP908 is available now for $1099, a slimmed-down, 5.1 version called the HT-SP904 is also currently on shelves for $899.

Read -- HT-SP908
Read -- HT-SP904

We tried to resist, honest, but it's just impossible to turn a blind eye to the similarities here. Onkyo's CBX-Z10 and CBX-Z20 iPod-friendly CD players do manage to include ten-watts of amplification, video output, a headphone jack, the firm's Acoustic Drive speaker technology, a CD player, and an obligatory iPod dock, but what's not listed in the specs that you still get (for better or worse) is the eerie resemblance to Bose's Wave Radio. Furthermore, the Z10 looks to come dressed in white while the Z20 dons a black motif, and aside from "improved audio quality" from the latter, they each look to be identical. Priced at ¥43,000 ($361) and ¥50,000 ($420), respectively, these two units are even priced like a Bose, but at least Onkyo bothers to tell you the frequency range of the drivers within.

[Via Impress]

While Onkyo has been a part of the HD DVD promotions group as long as we can remember, Onkyo really hasn't done much. We have heard rumors about a HD DVD player from Onkyo for some time, and there was even a mention of it at CES this year. Our friends over at FormatWarCentral have discovered a few details in an otherwise obscure Onkyo post on a UK site that we find very interesting. Apparently Onkyo expects to launch the DV-HD805 this autumn, and it will be based on the Toshiba HD-XA2 player -- with a few yet to be mentioned tweaks. We are excited to see another HD DVD player on the market, but we hope it's not just a re-badge of the HD-AX2. Before any format fanboys get too rabid; the Onkyo rep also mentioned that officially Onkyo supports both formats.

Onkyo has the loot for you if you want to hear Oprah and Howard back-to-back, with announcements of five receivers featuring both XM and Sirius satellite radio compatibility. The TX-SR575, TX-SR705, TX-SR805, and TX-SR875 models all support both formats for your radio jones, while the high-end TX-NR905 model also adds support for HD Radio digital broadcasts and an Ethernet jack for Internet radio and multimedia streaming. The receivers all have the usual collection of video ins and outs, and sport 1.3a HDMI connectors with Deep Color capability for switching between sources up to 1080p resolution. No pricing or dates were announced for the TX-SR575, but the TX-SR805 will ship in May for $1099, the TX-SR875 in June for $1699, the TX-SR705 in July for $899, and the TX-NR905 in August for $2099.

Read - Onkyo THX Certified Receivers
Read - Onkyo TX-SR575

In Japan, the hand can be used as a knife (HiiiiYa!) and bookshelf audio systems feature big LCDs for surfing on-line music. The NR-NX10 from Onkyo packs an 80GB disk drive to store all your downloaded tracks or any PCM/ATRAC/MP3 files you've ripped direct from its CD player. No, we're not talking BitTorrent or Usenet downloads, devices like these grab tracks off Sony's AnyMusic on-line service over their built-in Ethernet ports. But wait, there's more. Own a USB mass-storage compliant audio player? Great, plug it in cause the BR-NX10 can grab those files too. Sure, it probably rocks DLNA streaming from your PC like other Onkyo systems... but can it cut a tomato? You might expect to pay ¥150,000 or even ¥200,000... but if you act now (ok, March when they ship) it can be yours for the low, low price of just ¥94,500 (about $778). They'll even throw in a pair of matching speakers for as little as ¥18,900 (about $156).

[Via Impress]

We'll admit, we've seen a plethora of unique and well-featured keyboards in the past few months, but we can't exactly say we saw this one coming. Now that pigs are reaching cruising altitude and Denon's kicking out some new high-end headphones, we suppose an aluminum keyboard to match Onkyo's recently-unveiled metallic PC isn't all that shocking, but it's certainly not the company's usual cup of tea. Nevertheless, the WAVIO aluminum keyboard rocks a fairly typical QWERTY layout, an unfortunately truncated backspace key and spacebar, a noticeably cluttered numeric keypad, a bevy of macro / multimedia hotkeys, and entirely too much bezel for our liking. Still, the board comes in a few flavors, with a more rectangular wired USB version costing ¥8,000 ($67), while the curvaceous cordless version comes bundled with a matching critter for ¥5,000 ($42) more. Those who don't mind the tether can pick up the KB-1 sometime next week, while the folks waiting on the KM-1W won't have any luck until late March, but be sure to click on through for a few more closeups of Onkyo's oddities anyway.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Japan's Onkyo has this new HDC-1.0 media PC in the chute and ready for launch next month in hopes of wooing the audiophile crowd. Set to replace the HDC-7, the HDC-1.0 measures in at 205 x 240 x92.5-mm and brings a Vista pre-load as you'd expect. However, the "wow" is limited to just Home Basic... this ain't no Vista Media Center friends. Instead, Onkyo loads up their own CarryOn Music 10 software to make the most of Onkyo's SE-90PCI PCI card which touts a 2-channel, audiophile grade 110dB SNR and 24bit/192kHz -- yeah, that exceeds CD sound quality. The software also ties back neatly to Onkyo's own "e-onkyo music" 24bit/96kHz download service. At the heart you'll find a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500 CPU, Intel 945GM integrated graphics, 1GB of memory, 120GB of 2.5-inch SATA disk, gigabit Ethernet, DVI and optical digital output, 6x USB 2.0 (2x in front) and 1x Firewire, and a slot-loading DVD super multi-drive. Onkyo attempts to keep the environment at bay by using an external power source to minimize EMI and by using a single, 8-cm fan and lots of rubber damping to keep things quiet inside the box. The result, according to Onkyo, is a true "HD audio PC." Of course, they could have packed in an SSD and ULV processor to ace the fan and cut the vibration completely, right? Sure, but then we'd be looking at a price much higher than the HDC-1.0's already expensive ¥210,000 (about $1,739) or ¥248,000 (about $2,054) after tossing in the matching digital amplifier. Check the amp and PC splayed after the break.

[Via Impress]

It looks like Neuros is soon going to have to work a little harder to win over media-happy PSP users, with Onkyo announcing that it's about to bust out a standalone media recorder of its own. Like the Neuros recorder, Onkyo's Wavio VR-1000J doesn't have any internal storage, relying instead on Memory Sticks and SD Cards that you can pop directly into your PSP or other video-capable device. In addition to PSP compatible video, it'll also record in the 3GPP, 3GPP2, and ASF video formats, with three video quality settings for each to suit your needs (maxing out at 320x240, 30 fps, apparently not supporting the PSP's native widescreen resolution). On the audio front, you'll only get AAC, G.726, and AMR formats, making it bit less versatile than the Neuros all around, although it does have the whole pyramid thing going for it. Look for this one to hit Japan Decemeber 25th, coming in around the 20,000 Yen mark ($170US).

[Via Akihabara News]