Been saving up for an upgrade? You might not have much time to penny-pinch, because we're told that the new Intel "Bloomfield" processors will be shipping a lot earlier than scheduled. Now we're at a crossroads, ladies and gentlemen: do we sally forth to the new Bloomfield CPU line and it's accompanying X58 chipset, or shall we hope that the release will force last generation's CPU retail tags to lower considerably? We'll tell you what: if you course through the new story, you'll find the choice gets even more complicated.

Remember the rumor about the Xbox 360 Blu-ray console that's set to ship this year? If you do, don't  buy into it anymore. Recently, Microsoft has spoken words that have dispelled this particular hearsay circulating. Find out what the company said in the full article.

Microsoft has previously denied that they were going to put a Blu-Ray drive into the Xbox 360. However, the latest rumors are saying that the company has already placed orders for a Blu-Ray Xbox 360. For more on this, check out the full article.

LG Display isn't only all about expensive, ultra-slim monitors. The display manufacturer from Korea is now working on filling the demand of widescreen LCD monitors for low-cost computers. Check out the specs for three of their upcoming LCD display line-up in the full article.

Rumors were spreading that Lite-On will be manufacturing Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360. Regarding this, Microsoft has just released an official statement dispelling this particular rumor. Find out the details  of their announcement after the jump!

True, or April Fool's Joke? According to DigiTimes, Lite-On is currently producing Blu-ray  drives for the Xbox 360 gaming consoles, despite Microsoft's previous comments about not having any plans of using Blu-ray technology in its gaming console. Quite a sudden turn of events, and nicely timed, too. Hit the full article for more details on this intriguing piece of news.

Taiwan may be hosting one of the premier manufacturing companies behind the many parts of the Nintendo Wii, but lately it hasn't been given love by Nintendo itself. But by the second quarter of 2008, that will no longer be the case. Nintendo's subsidiary in Taiwan, Nintendo Phuten, has delegated distribution rights to two lucky companies: Hakuya and Weblink. More details at the full story.

Despite already selling more than 10 million units globally, the demand for Nintendo's shiny white console Wii is still insatiable. We realize that some of you are still having a hard time scouting for the console itself or the motion-sensing controllers in retail stores because the supply just won't keep up with the demand.

Nintendo, time and again, has given word that it will ramp up its production for the console. However, it seems that it's not going to happen anytime within this year. According to a report from online site DigiTimes, Taiwan-based chip makers lament that the supply for different components like IC chips and PCBs are still tight as of now.

"With the delay of its plans, any easing of the Wii shortages in the worldwide market is unlikely to be seen in the second half of 2007", said one unnamed chip manufacturer. We do hope they sort out this problem sooner than later because the Nintendo's success is also generating money for other businesses worldwide.

It seems like Blu-ray players are beginning to get cheaper, especially now that the move is being spearheaded by Sony itself. It was only this month when the company confirmed the US$ 100 price drop for its BDP-S300, officially bringing its price down to just US$ 499.

Anyway, online site DigiTimes was able to get a copy of Japanese-language newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun and found out that Funai Electric will be shipping its 42-inch full high-definition LCD TV and next-generation Blu-ray Disc (BD) player in North America this coming Fall.

While there are no official announcements regarding pricing, we are pretty sure that the BD player will be tagged lower than that of Sony's BDP-S300. Funai is known for making low costs electronic products and consumers in North America recognize its products under brand names Sylvania, Emerson, and Magnavox.

Regarding the HD LCD TV sets, it was reported that the panels will be adopted from Taiwan-based players while the TV itself will be assembled in China. The first batch of shipments will be around 100,000 to 200,000 units.

AU Optronics (AUO) has revealed not just one but two new groundbreaking technologies for mobile phones.

One of these is a 2.2-inch transreflective panel with a border of 0.9mm on both the right and left sides. This TFT LCD is being touted by AUO as having the world's slimmest border. According to DigiTimes, AUO claims that this is half a size smaller than products currently in the market. The slim border design can increase the TFT LCD's active area without sacrificing resolution.

The other is a 2.7-inch panel which AUO claims has the world's highest contrast ratio of 2,100:1. According to DigiTimes, this panel was made possible through AUO's AMVA-mobile technology. The AMVA-mobile technology can provide high contrast ratios coupled with a wide viewing angle.

Both the 2.2-inch and the 2.7-inch panels will be showcased at Display Taiwan 2007 in Taipei on June 13 to June 15 along with other TFT LCD technologies from AUO.