The huge battery recalls from a few years ago showed that a flaw in the battery could have serious consequences for computer makers and consumers. Several batteries short-circuited and caught fire leading to property damage on more than one occasion.

Panasonic has introduced new battery technology that not only offers longer run time for laptops, but promises to be safer too. The new batteries use a standard cell form factor and pack in 3.1Ah per cell compared to the 2.9Ah of current cells.

The Panasonic MW-10 was announced last month and was available in Japan only, but here’s some good news for those of you who have been lusting after it. The device is now available in the States for $299.95.

To refresh your memory, the MW-10 has an integrated CD player, a FM/AM radio tuner with 45-station (30-FM/15-AM)m D.Bass function, a Universal Dock for your iPod, a 9″ WVGA LCD display so you can use it as a digital photo frame, 4GB of internal memory and an SD memory card slot.

Panasonic has unveiled their latest iPod docks from their D-Dock series. Dubbed the Panasonic SC-HC4 and HC3, these slim iPod docking stations pack in a digital amplifier delivering 20Watts × 2 channels output, an AM/ FM tuner, CD player and a SD card slot.

The speakers are made from high quality Bamboo fiber to make them lightweight and capable of delivering deep sound. The Panasonic SC-HC4 will be available in silver, pink and black for 40,000 Yen (or $450) and the Panasonic SC-HC3 will be available in silver for 35,000 Yen (or $400).

Rumors have been swirling for the past couple of days, and it looks like the rumors were real. This weekend, Walmart is kicking off their pre-Black Friday deals, including a $199 Xbox 360 Arcade that comes with a free $100 gift card. That basically drops the price to $100.

And that isn’t the only good deal they have either. The sale starts at 8 a.m. Nov. 7 and lasts through Nov. 13. Probably these deals will be finished on the first day. I know where I’ll be

The name makes it sound like it’s small enough for your pocket, but actually this media player from Panasonic Japan features a 9 inch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, along with a CD player, FM radio, an iPod dock and 4GB of internal memory. Not exactly portable.

The device also has a SD card slot and USB port for all of your audio and image files that are elsewhere. From the built in amplifier you can expect an output of 5W × 2ch.

There have been more 3D films hit the theater this summer than I can ever remember seeing before. It wasn’t only animated films in 3D either; there were some live action films. I for one am glad to see 3D going so much more mainstream and I can’t wait to get 3D content in my living room. According to a new report from GigaOM Pro, 3DTV shipments are set to boom over the next few years.

The research firm estimates that between now and 2013 there will be 46 million 3DTVs shipped. Big supporters of the 3DTV format will include Sony and Panasonic who will both look to 3DTV to boost slowing sales.

Meet the DMR-XP200 and XE100, two new DVD and HDD recorders from Panasonic., Both have similar specs and look the same design-wise.

The Panasonic XE100 has a 320GB HDD and a digital TV tuner, while the Panasonic XP200 features a 500GB HDD, a digital and analog TV tuner, and a BS/110 CD digital tuner. The XP200 can also record 1Seg TV programs and save recorded video on an SD card.

Remember Panasonic‘s in-dash Blu-Ray players? They’ve officially announced the CY-BB1000D and also the HX-3000D, which is an HD standard DVD player for your car. The Blu-ray player features a 7-inch display with a 1,280 x 720 resolution and an HDMI input as well as Bonus View content compatibility. That one is due to arrive on September 10th in Japan for about $1,060.

The HX-3000D features an SD card slot, 50W audio, DVD drive, 5.1 channel audio support, an 80GB hard drive and a USB cable. That one will be available on the same date in Japan for about $3,874.

You might remember that Evolta, that little robot powered by 2 AA Panasonic Batteries was going for another robotic record. Well, the little guy did it. He broke a world record by traveling for 23.726 km at Le Mans. Still, it must have been hard to watch such a little bot make 5.6 laps in 24h.

This is Evolta’s 2nd title in the Guinness Book of Records. We congratulate him and look forward to his next big win. The heart of a champion beats in his little blue chest and the eye of the tiger looks keenly toward his next challenge.

Panasonic Japan has announced two new plasma HDTVs, the 65-inch TH-P65V1 and the 58-inch TH-P58V1. Both feature Panasonic’s latest neoPDP panel technology with a contrast ratio of 40,000:1, along with the usual VIERACast streaming media and internet widgets. Both also feature an SD/SDHC card slot so you can play back video, pictures and music, even AVCHD footage directly from an HD camcorder.

There’s also 1080/24p Full HD support, plus a virtual 5.1 surround sound system. It also sports a cool CCTV feature that integrates with up to four different wireless security cameras.

Panasonic is making a lot of people happy today. This morning it gave all of its Viera Cast Blu-ray players support for Amazon’s Video On Demand service. The feature lets the company’s more advanced disc readers from 2009, stream purchases and rentals directly from the reader without needing storage for a complete copy. You don’t need a matching Panasonic TV and it supports HD with a fast connection.

An update to add Amazon’s service should be available for free today and will go well with existing support for Picasa photos, YouTube videos and the other services already available on the Blu-ray players.

Look at that gargantuan webcam. It’s not a webcam at all. It’s Panasonic’s Nano Care beauty appliance. Model numbers EH-SA42 and EH-SA41. Both devices will keep your area moist throughout the day so that your skin will be moist, not dry.

The EH-SA42 doesn’t even need any water to do it. So yes, what we have here are a pair of simple humidifiers. Who knows if it will help your skin, but at least you’ll have a honking huge webcam looking thing on your desk. Both models will arrive in Japan this November, where moistness will reign.

One of the things that always appealed to many users of point-and-shoot cameras is that you could get them with giant zoom ranges and the ability to record video as well. Some DSLRs will record video now as well, but a point-and-shoot is cheaper and easier to use for most users.

Panasonic has announced its latest super zoom camera called the FZ35 boasting an 18x zoom lens and the ability to record HD video. The camera has a dedicated record button and the zoom lens is fully functional while recording.

I have been waiting for a point-and-shoot camera to come along that has a shutter speed fast enough for me to leave my DSLR at home in most instances. The problem I have with most point-and-shoots is that they can’t take pictures of fast action.

Panasonic has announced a new point-and-shoot called the DMC-ZR1 that puts the world’s first 0.3mm thick aspherical lens into a compact body. The thin lens means that the camera can be compact and have a 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens with 8x optical zoom.

Panasonic has announced a new series of DVRs that will be available in September. Six models in all, these new DVRs feature a Blu-ray recorder, a VHS player (for the DMR-BR670V) and your choice of 320GB / 500GB / 1TB / 2TB of HDD.

They come equipped with the latest UniPhier system LSI that integrates new AV data compression/decompression technology. The high-end model, the DMR-BW970 should be able to record up to 320hrs of video in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 @ 12.9Mbps and supports Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS-HD, can record on BD-RE / BD-R / DVD-RAM / DVD-R / DVD R DL / DVD-RW, and there’s also HDMI output, an SDHC card slot, the VIERA Link, and is DLNA.