As a follow up to the previous report regarding the planned sale of Sony’s chipmaking unit – the Japanese the company said Tuesday that it is still looking at ways to improve its chip operations and has reached no decision on whether to sell it; essentially denying Japanese media reports that it has struck a deal with Toshiba.

Toshiba Corp. spokesman Keisuke Omori also said no deal has been decided.

Japan’s top business daily, The Nikkei, reported Saturday that Sony has decided to sell its advanced computer chip production operations to Toshiba, which partnered with Sony and IBM Corp. in developing the “Cell” microprocessor. Cell powers Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console, some IBM servers and specialized, graphics-intensive hardware, but it has yet to emerge as a mainstream processor.

The speculation about the future of Sony’s chip operations comes amid a restructuring at Sony and intensifying competition among the world’s computer chip makers. In general, prices have been dropping not only on lower-end chips but all gadgets, making it harder for manufacturers to maintain profits.

“There’s probably two or three things going on in concert,” said Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT Research. “It’s very expensive not just to produce or develop but also to maintain a hardware platform. It’s not something that ends when the finished chip comes out.”

Sony shares fell 2.2 percent amid market expectations that the company will have to shoulder losses in selling its chip-making facilities to Toshiba. Toshiba shares dipped 0.6 percent.

Sony has been saying for months it’s exploring ways to streamline its chip business as it focuses on home entertainment devices. “But nothing concrete has been decided,” Sony spokesman Tomio Takizawa said.

In the weekend report, The Nikkei said Sony will sell its chip operations to Toshiba and then form a joint venture with Toshiba to use its products. IBM, which also produces Cell chips in East Fishkill, N.Y. — at a facility that got a $325 million investment from Sony in 2004 — declined to comment.

News source: Associated Press

Hi-MD users will be pleased to know that Onkyo’s newly announced third generation FR series Hi-MD micro systems is now available for sale in Japan. The two new models - X-N7TX and X-N9TX - has a MSRP of 49,800 yen (USD433) and 69,800 yen (USD606) respectively; both systems feature CD / MD / Tuner modules with the FM tuner being Japan only (76.0 - 90.0 mhz). Note: The X-N7TX will be available in two color variations. The X-N9TX has a rated output of 2 x 19mW @ 4Ω and installed capacity of 2 x 26mW @ 4Ω whereas its sibling, the X-N7TX has a rated output of 2 x 15mW @ 4Ω and installed capacity of 2 x 20mW @ 4Ω.

For full details on the new FR series, please click here (Japanese only).

The X-N7TX

The X-N9TX

Financial Times reported yesterday that Sony is in talks to sell its advanced semiconductor facilities to Toshiba in a move that would represent an effective retreat from high-end semiconductor fabrication. This strategy is in line with Sir Howard Stringer’s desire to slim down the industry giant and if the deal with Toshiba goes well, Sony may stop making advanced chips and instead focus on audiovisual equipment come 2008.

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Sony’s Walkman devices will always come with optional accessories and the new NW-S71xF/NW-S61xF series is no different. The new Network Walkman series will debut with new accessories as shown above; and it can also utilize existing Walkman accessories such as the AC-NWUM50, BCR-NWU3, WMC-NWR1, CPF-NW001, SRS-NWZ10, STP-NWN3/W, STP-NWN3/T, STP-NWN2/S, STP-NWN2/B and other miscellaneous Bluetooth accessories.

Product info and pictures after the jump …

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AV Watch has released a pictorial review of the newly announced MDR-EX700SL canal-type earphones. For those interested, please visit AV Watch for the review piece.

More pictures after the jump …
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It has come to our attention that Sony will be putting forth a new line of NetMD micro system on November 21, 2007. The new micro system, known as the CMT-M35WM will be available in three colors: Black, White and Silver; and has an expected MRSP of approximately 37,800 yen (or approx. USD328).

The micro system’s suffix – WM underscore its capability to facilitate direct recording to certain Walkman models* via its USB port. (as shown in the picture below) It is also interesting to note that basic operations of a Walkman while connected (via USB) to the micro system can be accessed using the CMT-M35WM’s remote control.

* NW-E305/E307, NW-E002/E003/E005, NW-A605/A607/A608, NW-S603/S605/S703F/S705F/S706F, NW-S203F/S205F, NW-E013/E015/E016, NW-A805/A806/A808, and NW-S615F/S616F/S715F/S716F/S718F.

The CMT-35WM has a CD, MD and Cassette Tape module and its amplifier has a maximum output of 20W×2ch; Dimensions: approx. 450mm (w) × 282mm (d) × 232mm (h); Weight: Main unit, approx. 3.1kg; Speakers, approx. 2.2kg for one.

More pictures after the jump …
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A new firmware update for the PSP was made available yesterday. This quick firmware follow-up only include the following update: “A correction has been made to the settings for some regions.” The new firmware is now available via network update and manual download.

UPDATE NOW AVAILABLE:
PSP Firmware 3.71: Japanese | US | European | Chinese | Korean