Most computer and gadget fans will remember the massive battery recalls that took place a few years ago. Most of the batteries that were recalled were due to fire hazard. Several batteries across the country actually overheated and burst into flames.

Sony and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced that another massive battery recall has been issued. In the U.S. alone about 35,000 Sony made laptop batteries have been recalled and an additional 65,000 laptop batteries have been recalled overseas. The reason for the recall is that the Lithium-ion batteries pose a potential burn hazard. According to Sony there have been 19 reports of the batteries in question overheating, 17 reports of flame/fire and 10 of the reports resulted in minor property damage.

The rolling egg that fancies itself a robot is back, with an update in the form of the Rolly SEP-50BT. Compared to its predecessor the Rolly SEP-10BT, this new dancing fool has double the memory at 2GB along with Bluetooth. Which means that it can now be controlled from a cellphone, PC etc. It comes bundled with ‘Rolly Remote’, software that lets you control the movement of your Rolly. In fact you can control up to 7 Rolly’s from the PC. The new Rolly will be available in pink and limited edition black for about $350 on November 21 in Japan.

Back in the summer of 2007, I went to E3 and sat through the Sony E3 presentation where they first talked about LittleBigPlanet. When I first heard about the game, I thought it was a rather goofy idea. Now that more details have surfaced it might be a cool game.

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced that LittleBigPlanet is now shipping exclusively for the PS3. The game features odd sock animal-like creatures that are controlled by the player. The entire world of the game is made from material (fabric and such). Sony describes it as a stitched together material world.

Avid readers may find the thought of a digital book reader to be intriguing. No more running to the bookstore to get new reading material, you can simply buy a book online and download it to your digital book reader. Sony has one of the most robust lines of digital book readers available and has announced its third generation reader.

The Sony PRS-700 is about the size of a slim paperback book and weighs only ten ounces. The device has a 6-inch touch enabled electronic ink display. The addition of touch sensitivity allows users to flip pages with the swipe of a finger or zoom in on text with a tap.

I have never brought a TV based on how thin it was in profile. Once the set is on my entertainment center, how thick it is really doesn’t matter. I am more about the image quality and screen size. I could see a really thin TV being appealing if it was going to be wall mounted though.

Sony has announced a pair of new 1080p Bravia TVs at CEDIA that will suit those looking for thin and those looking for the best image quality. The Sony KLV-40ZX1M is one of the thinnest sets this side of an OLED screen at only 9.9mm thick. Sony says that is about the thickness of a DVD case. The TV is also very light for a 40-inch TV at only 26 pounds.

If I had the space in my house, I would definitely prefer to have a projector set up rather than a normal HDTV. With a projector, you can get a giant size HD image that you can’t get with a LCD or plasma TV, short of spending $100k.

Sony has introduced a pair of new home theater projectors at CEDIA in Denver. One of the projectors is high-end and intended for custom installations. The custom install projector is called the VPL-VW70. It has a 60,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 800 ANSI lumens of brightness. It can also use an optional Anamorphic lens to provide large screen sizes with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The VW70 will retail for $8,000.

Sony is revamping its Xplod line of car stereo units that will work with iPods. The iPod-aware models are the GT630UI, GT430IP, GT330 and GT130, and each features a USB connection that transfers data and charges the iPod.

These are the first models of their kind that feature scan technology known as “ZAPPIN”, which will do what auto-scanning does for radios, but for your digital content. So, using it will play samples of each track in a given piece of the listener’s library so you get a taste of songs, rather than text descriptions. If you want GT630UI you’ll have to pay $160, while the GT430IP and GT330 will cost $130 and $100, when they’re released in September.

Sony is betting that there are people out there who really want to be a DJ. I’m not into mixing songs together and making mixed tapes, but I am sure there are many people out there who are into that. If you are such person and you have been looking for an easy way to play DJ — the Sony XROSS FADE is your ticket.

The XROSS FADE is a 450W stereo system aimed at the aspiring DJ. The system has DJ themed features including a cross-fader and monitor cue along with a built-in two-channel mixer. The features allow the user to check upcoming tracks with headphones to ensure they are cued properly before the songs play. The features can also be used to mix two songs together or fade into the next song. A USB recording function allows users to record mix sessions directly to a USB flash drive without the need for PC.

Multi-room audio is hot these days with more manufacturers than you can shake a stick at bringing wireless audio systems to market. Lots of competition is a good thing because it means a large variety of price points and models for music fans to choose from. Sony has launched a high-end music system designed specifically for the iPod that streams music wirelessly to different rooms of your home.

The system is called the Sony S-AIRPLAY and is a wireless multi-room solution that can transmit audio from the main docking station to its wireless speakers up to 164-feet away. The system includes one docking station and two S-AIR wireless speakers. The system can support up to 10 speakers simultaneously. In addition to the iPod dock — that also charges the iPod — the system features an AM/FM tuner.

A new breed of Walkmans has hit Sony’s New Zealand website and they are colorful as a bag full of skittles in a Leprechauns pot o gold. The new models are the NWZ-E435, NWZ-E436, and NWZ-E438. They all feature a 2-inch QVGA LCD display, FM tuner, codec support for MP3, AAC, WMA, and Linear PCM files, and clock in a very small package of 8.5mm.

The devices will be available in 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB sizes, each model having various color options, the NWZ-E438 being the exception as it only comes in black. Supposedly the PMPs are compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes, with a drag and drop interface. Nothing on price yet or what country will see it first. Not even a release date, but expect them on the next month or two. We’ll let you know when we hear more.

Continuing the attempt to make every future game like a Wii game Sony is working on a sword fighting game that will use 1:1 motion tracking. At least, according to a representative for Sony Computer Entertainment’s London Studios, who seemed pretty bitter about the success of the Wii.

It makes perfect business sense since everyone in the world owns a PS2 and they’ve sold 10.5 million Eyetoys. And since they wish they were the Wii in their hearts. They’re using new color tracking technology to enhance the EyeToy’s motion tracking for two new EyeToy: Play games that should be ready for the holidays this year. One of them is a sword fighting game that comes with a fluorescent toy sword of some sort.

One of the worst things about a home theater aside from the wires is that the speakers tend to be big and bulky. Larger speakers often sound better, but they are hard to hide and can really mess up the looks of a room (so says my wife).

To go along with the new line of Sony Bravia HDTVs I wrote about this morning Sony has released a HT-IS100 Bravia Theater Micro System. The system is designed around five tiny speakers that are each about the size of a golf ball or a strawberry.

When it comes to LCD HDTVs Sony has some of the most popular sets on the market in its Bravia line. While LCD TVs and LCDs on notebooks share some of the same tech, notebook LCDs have been using LED backlighting for better picture quality and thinner profiles for a while now. The LED tech hasn’t been seen much in HDTVs until now.

Sony introduced seven new XBR HDTV models including models using TRILUMINOS LED backlighting and local dimming to provide better black levels and contrast. The TRILUMINOS LED system uses clusters of red, blue and green LEDs to produce improved color. The new models include screen sizes from 19 to 70-inches.

Sony announced two series A, Bluetooth enabled Personal Media Players: the NW-A820 and NW-A829 in Japan today. Both include a 2.4 inch 320 x 240 LCD display and can playback MP3, WMA, ATRAC,ATRAC Advanced Lossless, Sony PCM, and AAC and HE-AAC audio file formats but doesn’t support DRM on WMA and AAC. They also support video file format in MPEG4, AVHC, H.264 and provide seamless wireless audio video playback to Bluetooth headphones using Bluetooth version 2.0 A2DP/AVRCP.

If you like, you can also get an optional VRC-NW10 dock that has the ability to schedule, record and store TV programs using EPG broadcast television or radio programs. The A820 has 8GB flash storage while the A829 comes with 16GB. Expect to see these around March in Japan. The NW-A820 is priced at 28,000 Yen ($260), NW-A829 at 38,000 Yen ($353) and the optional cradle at 20,000 yen ($186).

That’s right, it’s 2008 and Sony is releasing a tape deck. Wtf you say? Me too. I’m not sure what they are thinking here, but I’m betting an 8-Track deck is around the corner. This dual tape recorder has a nice modern look, at least. It also features a CD player and a FM/AM Radio Tuner. It comes in two shades of gray and is available only in Japan for around $145.

There must be a surplus of tapes in Japan that I had not heard of. Either that or they just collectively discovered the magic of the garage sale cassette. Seriously, alot of people still use tapes. Mostly because they are cheap. The tapes, not the people. OK, them too. Still, I would be curious to find out how many of these units Sony is able to move.