Toshiba Japan today announced a new 2.5-inch HDD whose 640GB capacity is the highest in its class. The MK6465GSX [JP] is just 9.5mm thick and weighs 102g. It’s the high-end product of Toshiba’s new MK series of HDDs, which also includes models with 160/250/320 and 500GB capacity.

Neither one of the companies involved have confirmed this officially so far, but the Nikkei, Japan’s biggest business publication is usually very reliable: According to that source, Hitachi and Toshiba are joining forces to take the leadership in the field of next-generation HDDs that have 10 times the memory capacity of models today.

We now have “green” cars, bicycles and even trains – so why shouldn’t we get electric buses? And apparently Japan asked the same question, as a number of local companies and institutions launched a collaborative project with the aim of developing an eco-friendly, large-size bus.

They’ve announced it back in June and executed the plan today: Toshiba is now officially a Blu-ray supporter. The company issued a short press release (in English) today, stating Toshiba has applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The BDA is a voluntary membership group aimed at fostering the development of the Blu-ray format on a global scale.

Toshiba, the company behind the now dead HD DVD format, first talked about joining the Blu-ray bandwagon back in June, but it seems there’s no hurry. The company announced a total of three new Vardia DVRs today [JP], and they all use DVDs and HDDs to store data.

After unveiling the first 16 GB microSDHC memory card back in October 2008, Toshiba today announced the world’s first 64GB SDXC memory card, which also boasts the fastest data transfer rate out there. The card has a top write speed of 35Mbps and a read speed of 60Mbps, enough for handling a 2.4GB video file in 70 seconds.

I understand this is Toshiba’s first foray into the world of large-form-factor external hard drives, but you have to give the thing a name. You can’t just call your product the “Toshiba 3.5-inch External HDD.” That said, the product itself looks nice. Good looking, shock-resistant, though at $160 for a terabyte, a little bit pricey.

New iPods usually come out in September, right? There or thereabouts, at any rate. Well then maybe we should look into this report that says Toshiba will “ramp up” production of flash memory chips during the month of Auguest. Word on the street is that Toshiba is doing so to fulfill a big order from Apple. So, new iPods on the way? Speculate away!

After losing the format war against Sony, Toshiba is yet to produce Blu-ray hardware, but at least they keep on rolling out DVD hardware in their VARDIA series. The company yesterday announced two new HDD/DVD recorders for the Japanese market [JP].

Remember HD DVD? The video format developed by Toshiba that lost the format war against Blu-ray? Today Toshiba held a pretty interesting annual shareholder meeting in Tokyo during which president Atsutoshi Nishida didn’t say they will revive HD DVD but that his company thinks about producing Blu-ray products.

I haven’t had the chance yet to try it out but those who did say the Toshiba TG01 seems to be a pretty good cell phone. Needless to say, the TG01 (1 Ghz CPU, 9.9mm body and a 4.1-inch touchscreen) was due out in Japan first. But most customers over here are still waiting for the “iPhone killer”.

Ah, the standard 10-inch netbook. It’s everywhere. With restrictions imposed by Intel and Microsoft on just how powerful these little machines can get, manufacturers have to focus more on aestethics, good keyboards, and battery life to differentiate themselves inside the overly crowded arena that is the 10-inch netbook.

Let’s start with Toshiba’s ad that looks like it came straight out of the early 90s. Pretty boring if you ask me. Aside from that the SV670 is quite stunning. For one thing, the 55-inch model would take up my entire living room and I’d be happy to watch from the next room. I can’t say too much about the local dimming and simulated 240Hz because all the Toshiba sets were looping the same video of the Rose Gardens in Portland, OR. The Deep Lagoon design might seem gimmicky, but when you’re in the store staring at hundreds of black trimmed TVs on the wall, the Regza is going to catch your eye. I can’t give it a proper “hands-on” because it didn’t seem to be calibrated correctly because the ZV650 seemed to be properly calibrated and the color on that particular set blew away the SV670. I was thoroughly impressed with Toshiba’s lineup that was re-announced today, but I’ll reserve final judgment until I’ve had proper time with each. In the meantime, check out the photos.