The term “3-D” has been largely synonymous with Hollywood blockbusters, buttered popcorn and ill-fitting cardboard glasses since the 1950s, when three-dimensionality was introduced to draw TV owners into theaters.

Over the past 20 years, 3-D-capable devices like set-top boxes as well as 3-D programming have become available at home. A lack of standard broadcasting formats, relatively little content and the need for 3-D glasses, however, have kept it from a broad audience.

Tech companies are betting that will all change, and when it does, you’ll be able to lose the glasses.

According to new data from Thomson Reuters, 3-D-related patents have risen sharply in recent years, led by companies such as Samsung, Panasonic and Toshiba. “It will only be a matter of time before 3-D televisions start showing up in the home,” the report says.

Patent activity in the 3-D television space grew 69 percent over a five-year period, with more than 1,000 unique invention patents filed last year alone. This year is on par, with 486 filed in the first half of 2009.

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Cash-strapped consumers have been slow to buy personal computers in the recession. But with the launch of Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) new Windows 7 operating system Thursday, PC makers are aiming to reverse that trend–and then some.

Companies are expecting that Windows 7’s improved features over earlier Microsoft operating systems, including Vista and XP, will lure more consumers into stores. And they are betting that heightened demand will allow them to stanch recent price declines in the market.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Dell Inc. (DELL), Toshiba America Inc. and Acer Inc., among others, are releasing a flood of high-end laptops with slim cases and glossy designs, and new one-piece touch-screen desktops, that they hope consumers will be willing to pay a premium for.

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SanDisk (SNDK) shares are coming under pressure this morning after Needham analyst Y. Edwin Mok cut his rating on the stock to Under Perform from Hold.

Mok writes in a research note that the downgrade reflects “early signs of weakness in the NAND flash memory sector that we believe will lead to lower prices.” He contends checks find that NAND product inventories have increased substantially, and that demand in both the retail and OEM channel has slowed since May. Heading into the second half, he writes, “we are concerned that production ramps”–Mok expects higher output from both Samsung and Toshiba–“will swing the NAND sector into oversupply.”

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Toshiba expects the LCD television market to grow five percent in 2009, the company said this morning at a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Scott Ramirez, VP for TV Marketing at Toshiba, also said that he expects there will be “no real volume” this year in televisions priced above $2,500. He notes that the average 52-inch LCD TV in November sold for $1,948. He expects no significant sales of televisions above 55 inches.

Ramirez explained a flurry of new technologies. One is called “deep lagoon.” It basically allows the picture on screen to fade out past the bezel surrounding the screen, so one gets a greater sense of depth at all of the edges of the picture.

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Toshiba has suspended NAND flash memory production at two plants for nine days due to weak demand, according to Reuters, which picked up the story from broadcaster NHK. The wire service said the company denied plans to shut down all operations at the two factories in Yokkaichi, in western Japan, and Oita, in southern Japan. The Yokkaichi factory is a joint venture with SanDisk (SNDK).

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SanDisk (SNDK) shares are on the rise on rumors that Toshiba might be planning a bid for the company, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The two companies have a joint venture to manufacture NAND flash memories, and Toshiba has been often rumored to be a logical partner for the flash memory chipmaker.

In October, Samsung withdrew a $26-a-share bid for SanDisk; there was speculation before Samsung pulled its offer that Toshiba might serve as a white knight for SanDisk.

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Seagate (STX) CEO Bill Watkins says some of his Asian competitors in the hard disk-drive market are in “really bad shape” and could be forced to team up to stay in business. In particular, he thinks Toshiba, Fujitsu and Samsung are suffering large losses; he thinks Toshiba and Fujitsu make “try to get together.”

Watkins made his remarks in an interview this afternoon with Tech Trader Daily following the company’s announcement of third-quarter results. While the September quarter numbers weren’t bad, the December outlook fell short of Street expectations, and the stock is trading lower after hours.

Watkins says that “bizarre as it sounds,” he feels better about Seagate’s business now then he did in June, noting that the company has made improvements in inventory turns, trimmed operating expenses and sped up the introduction of some new products. He says that business in October “looks pretty good, to be honest,” but that no one knows how things will go for the rest of the December quarter. Watkins says the PC manufacturers are like “deer in the headlights,” after failing to see a back-to-school demand pickup, and aren’t sure what happens in terms of fourth-quarter sales.

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In case you happen to think that Toshiba is going to outbid Samsung for SanDisk (SNDK), you ought to take note of the company’s currently grim view of the NAND flash memory market.

In fact, as Bloomberg reports, Toshiba today cut its full-year net income forecast for the March 31, 2009, fiscal year by 46 percent to 70 billion yen, which would be a four-year low. The company also cut its sales projection by 3.8 percent to 7.7 trillion yen, and its operating profit forecast by 48 percent to 105 billion yen.

Toshiba is the world’s second-largest producer of NAND flash memory chips. The company said its semiconductor division will lose 65 billion yen for the year due to weak NAND pricing.

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Even if you don’t care one bit–and this probably describes the vast majority of Americans–you have probably heard by now that a Great Format War has been fought, and apparently won. The HD-DVD format for DVDs, backed by Toshiba, has lost out to Sony’s Blu-ray format. To be sure, there are some caveats. Computerworld’s Lucas Mearian writes that Blu-ray’s victory may not be remotely as meaningful as it seems. Having recently spent a cold, rainy, but thrilling afternoon walking the Freedom Trail in Boston, I would put it this way: The Blu-ray victory may end up being as expensive, and as predictive of ultimate victory, as was the British victory of Bunker Hill. So what are we to make of this format skirmish? We gathered up a group of smart people who think about such things and asked them the following: Is the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray really over? What can we learn from it?

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