It’s strange to see anyone talking about, let alone creating new designs for portable DVD players, but this is just what’s happening. Inventables, a studio located close to Chicago, has come up with a brand new concept for this outdated technology. The concept is a portable DVD player with a fold-up e-screen, resulting in a super portable, large screen. While it’s a merely a concept for now, some players are already stepping up to the bat, and thinking realistically.

Directed Electronics recently launched two tablet DVD players which have been designed keeping in mind the average user and thus have been aggressively priced. The two models introduced by Directed include the TD700 and the TD850.While the former is just priced around $199, the latter could be yours for just about $349.99. Let’s now look at the two players briefly:

Sony Electronics Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. launches Sony’s new portable, lightweight and slim DVD Walkman player, D-VE7000S that offers flexible playback for any situation. Sheathed in a sleek black and durable casing, the D-VE7000S comes with a generous 7” LCD screen, is only 2.8cm in width and weighs 775g with the embedded battery.

Still seeking a buyer for its accessories and A/V business groups, Thomson staged a press conference here for a series of products coming to market shortly, including an RCA-branded HD DVD player, a video-enabled Lyra portable media player, a lineup of remotes and an external ATSC/NTSC TV tuner for PCs.

On the last day of March, Toshiba put on sale the world's first HD-DVD player, the HD-XA1. HD-DVD is one of two formats vying to replace DVD for high-definition movies and the players have been awaited for some time.