LG Japan is to launch the company’s recently announced BD370 Blu-ray player in Japan later this month. Network-enabled, the player won’t have the Netflix and CinemaNow compatibility  of it’s US counterpart  (due sometime during Q2)  but will support YouTube and BD-Live content. At Â¥34,800 ($416), users will likely want to make use of the streaming feature - no news on a European release just yet…

With the release of the latest firmware update for the PlayStation 3 (2.60, available now) the console adds Blu-ray Theme support, enabling users to display special backgrounds and icons included on future Blu-ray titles. Much like the ones available on the PSN, expect Blu-ray themes to become yet another feature of movie titles, with the first reportedly Pineapple Express. The firmware update also includes support for DivX 3.11, as well as a plethora of new photo gallery features. For more info check out the video above.

In gaming news, Microsoft has announced it is not currently working on a successor to the Xbox 360. With future generations of consoles set to be focused on 3D gaming, Microsoft is putting this next-gen model on hold and is instead focusing on bolstering the Xbox 360 experience.

Referring to the proposed 720 model, Microsoft boss Robbie Bach said: “Just coming up with something that’s faster and prettier isn’t going to be sufficient.” Obviously intent on keeping up with Sony’s treatment of the PlayStation 3, Bach concluded by saying, “the life cycle for this generation of consoles – and I’m not just talking about Xbox, I’d include Wii and PS3 as well – is probably going to be a little longer than previous generations.”

Samsung has unveiled the world’s slimmest Blu-ray player, with the BD-P4600, a unit measuring just 39mm high. Along with its other new BD player, the BD-P3600, the company gave the player an official spin at CES, where it won a Best Of Innovations award. BD-Live compatible, both players are notable for including Wi-Fi networking functionality, as well as the ability to stream content from the Netflix and Pandora online services. We’ll endeavour to bring you prices and release dates for these innovative devices as soon as they’re released.

For the definitive HD report on CES 2009 be sure to check out issue 16 of High Definition Review, available on 12 Feb.

Among the products set to be unleashed by Toshiba at CES is a prototype 56-inch HDTV with a 4k x 2k display, which uses Cell processors (the ones found in PlayStation 3) to upscale 1080p content to 3,840 x 2,160p. The proof will be in the viewing, but this exciting screen already has us excited with its revolutionary Resolution+ technology.

To find out what we think of the screen be sure to check out issue 16 of High Definition Review, available on 12 Feb.