Toshiba has announced that is planning to launch two new commercial products that will be based on PlayStation 3 technology. The Japanese news site Tech-On! reports that an upcoming Toshiba HDTV will use the PS3's core Cell processor to enable some high-end features not normally seen on consumer television sets. One of these features is "real-time upscaling of SD signals into HD resolution". Another interesting feature will be "the ability to play and record multiple TV shows at the same time." Another feature is described as the ability to "display video as if it is being viewed through opera glasses." Although unclear, it seems that may be a description of a zoom function. The second product is a notebook which will use Toshiba and Sony's SpursEngine graphics processor. There was no other details available for the laptop however. The notebook is expected to launch Q4 2008 while the TV should arrive in fall 2009.

Playstation 3 owners, unhappy that they won't get a crack at the Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content might still have a glimmer of hope.

Speaking to Videogamer.com, SCEE head David Reeves said that PS3 owners will probably see GTA IV content eventually.

Microsoft has a stranglehold on GTA IV DLC after they signed a $50 million agreement with Rockstar to bring additional content to the Xbox 360 version of the game.

However, fans have been left in the dark, as neither Microsoft or Rockstar has revealed any details as to what the DLC entails.

PlayStation president Kaz Hirai is confident the PS3 will win the console war, despite what he calls an "underwhelming" start.
"I am very confident that after the 10-year lifecycle we will have the install base that we are looking for, and that is obviously to be in the leadership position," Hirai told the BBC after his PlayStation Day keynote on Tuesday.
In his earlier remarks to the media, Hirai admitted to the slow start of the PS3. "I think it's fair to say that the first year of PlayStation 3 was somewhat a difficult one," he said. "There were some teething problems, success from our competitors, and our customers were a little underwhelmed by the range of titles that were available.
"This is something that we're very much aware of, and something we were always confident we could overcome."
Despite its inferior graphics, the Nintendo Wii has handily outsold Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 at a rate similar to that of the PlayStation 2, which has become the all-time best selling console with 127 million units sold thus far.

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has banned a recent televised PlayStation 3 ad for including "misleading" language which claimed the system would play all PlayStation 2 software.
While certain PlayStation 3 versions are indeed compatible with a majority of previous-generation software, the ad's claims (particularly the phrase "and it plays your PS2 games as well") were found to be in violation of CAP TV Advertising Standards Code rule 5.1, the UK's truth-in-advertising statute, reports Next Generation.
Despite ad creator PC World's argument that "around 80 percent of PS2 software is compatible with 60GB PlayStation 3s," the ASA has stated that the ad should not appear again in broadcast in its current form.

I'm just back from Sony's Playstation Day event in London. I'll stick some impressions up tomorrow - early playable code of Killzone and Motorstorm 2 were shown, along with a stack of PSP stuff - but Sony's big announcement was sales related. Yes, the PS3 has now outsold the 360 in Europe. Sony's David Reeves credited this success to the quality of software. Hmm. Did the solid, yet unspectacular likes of Resistance and Motorstorm really drive those sales? Unlikely. If you wanted the best games in 2007 you bought a 360. No, clearly Blu-ray and European brand loyalty were the main drivers. Oh, and the fact the PS3 doesn't suffer from the red ring of death was probably quite important too. So considering the paucity of must-have PS3 games to date - certainly in comparision to the 360 - the PS3 Euro sales success must be a worry for Microsoft.
Of course, the one sales figure Reeves didn't touch on was Nintendo's Wii - the console that has outsold both 360 and PS3. In fact you got the impression that Sony didn't even see Nintendo as a competitor anymore - a huge turnaround from only a couple of years ago when Sony press conferences were littered with Xbox and Gamecube comparison graphs. Anyway, PS3 - why did you buy? For the games? For Blu-ray? For the brand? Do tell

Talking to videogaming247, Haze creative head Derek Littlewood has confirmed that the shooter’s demo, to be released on PSN on May 6 as part of the forthcoming Playstation Day, will feature the game’s opening level.

“It’s the first mission in the game,” said Littlewood. “You take on the role of Shane Carpenter as a Mantel trooper as he’s scrambled into a jungle battlezone to secure the site of a crashed Mantel plane carrying a shipment of nectar.

“And you can assume by default that I’ll say it’s great,” he added.

Haze is released exclusively for PS3 on May 23.

An Insomniac Games employee has written in the NeoGAF boards and confirmed that a Resistance 2 demo will be present during the Sony PlayStation day on May 6, two days from now. It is likely that impressions will leak out of the press-only event, and we'll make sure to post them when they appear.