Sony has updated its Vaio S Series notebooks with Intel’s latest Core i5 and Core i7 processors, for a performance boost. It now also comes with an optional battery which Sony says will give you up to 15 hours of battery life. If true, that is pretty sweet.

The Sony Vaio S Series features a 13.3 inch display, and your choice of two Intel Core i5 processor and one Intel Core i7 processor, plus 4GB of RAM standard with the option to upgrade to 8GB. There’s also your choice of hard drives from 320GB up to 750GB or Solid State Drives from 256GB up to 1TB (with 2 x 512GB).

Japan loves Disney. They also love Sony. So Sony has decided to cash on this with ‘Christmas gift boxes’. Included in the special gift box is the Sony Walkman S-Series ‘NW-S750/S750K’ that is Disney themed, a Minnie cell phone strap and a protective case imprinted with the famous mice.

If you love Disney, this may be for you. Sony has a version with speakers too, which will be made available in limited quantities in Japan for 17,800 Yen ($ 220) and $ 21,000 with speakers ($ 250).

Zalman has released two lines of SATA SSDs in the 2.5-inch market. There’s the value-oriented S-series and the performance-oriented N-series, which are currently available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities. The Zalman S-series SSDs use a JMicron controller for up to 260MB/s of read speeds and up to 60MB/s write speeds for the 32GB model, 120MB/s write speeds for the 64GB model, and 210MB/s write speeds for the 128GB model. These are priced at $99, $149, and $249, respectively.

The Zalman N-series SSDs use the SandForce SF-12xx controller for up to 280MB/s read speeds and 270MB/s write speeds. The 64GB model is priced at $169, while the 128GB model sells for $289.

Sony is hoping that some Toy Story 3 branding will help sales on their S-Series Walkmans. So Sony has designed special edition Walkman S-Series devices imprinted with your favorite characters.

The original Sony Walkman Toy Story clear case for your gadget will set you back about $18 (or 1680 Yen). Compatible models include: the NW-S740, S740K, S640, S640K in 8GB to 32GB models. Designs include Woody and Buzz together, the Aliens and Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear.

The Walkman NWZ-S544 and the Walkman NWZ-S545 have been leaked by materiel.net, a French online retail site. Both models have very similar features, with the main difference being storage details: 8GB and 16GB. They are priced at 129 and 149 Euros.

Some features include: 8GB and 16GB of internal memory, 2.4″ display, FM radio, Built-in speakers, Plays Mpeg-4 AVC videos, Mp3, WMA and AAC (non-DRM), Battery: 42hrs audio, 6hrs video, 99.3×49.3×10.2mm, an weighs 70g.

Sony has done well with the S-Series Sony Walkman. That’s no surprise with it’s super-thin form, music and video capabilities, long lasting battery, FM tuner, etc. Well, the folks at Sony Insider caught wind of this picture from one of their sources and the theory is that this is the successor to the S series.

It looks great in red, blue, pink and black. Interestingly it appears to have speakers on the front. Awesome for those who like to use their music players without headphones. The design is pretty eye catching and it looks larger.

New phones have all the bells and whistles, but they leave a lot to be desired as far as design and feel. The S-series is just the opposite, combining sleek styling with quality materials in a compact package. Materials like bamboo and black acrylic with Brushed Aluminium Buttons. It makes owning and viewing the phone a joy. That much is obvious from the images alone.

The idea of this phone is to stand out and make a statement. And to do so without cutting out all of the features. All the key features are easily used without having to go out of your way and waste time.