Posted by Ian on July 17th, 2008 at 12:53 PM CST

Sony announced this week that its next-generation Blu-ray Disc player is now available at retailers across the country. The BDP-S350 supports BonusView (picture-in-picture) and is BD-Live ready. Sony plans to release a firmware update that will enable BD-Live later this year.

Sony’s next-generation Blu-ray Disc player, model BDP-S350, is now available across the country at Sony Style retail outlets, sonystyle.com and other authorized Sony retailers.

The BDP-S350 supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), which is featured on select new Blu-ray Disc home video releases, and is also BD-Live ready, with an Ethernet port for easy firmware updates and access to Internet-based interactive content features. A firmware update enabling BD-Live is planned later this year.

It also features quick start up mode improving the player’s boot up time to approximately a few seconds and offers an external port for local storage for BD-Live, allowing users to add an optional flash storage device (sold separately).

The BDP-S350 is now available for about $400 at Sony Style stores, online at sonystyle.com and at authorized retailers nationwide. More information about the BDP-S350 is available here.