As manufacturers and retailers start cranking up the 3D marketing machine, consumers need to decide if they’re in or out.

While hardware makers such as Sony prepare their consoles for the planned launch of 3DTV this summer, PC gamers looking forward to three-dimensional gaming can already get into the action.

Sony today announced the company’s first 3D-ready standalone Blu-ray Disc player. What does “3D-ready” mean, exactly? How much are we talking about? When do I buy one? Sync has the answers.

Intel’s 2010 CES booth had two 7-by 7-foot HD touchscreens, each one showing more than 500 rotating cubes that represent a piece of Internet content, be it a video, photo or text (including Twitter feeds, Flickr images, Google News articles and more). By touching the cubes, it expanded the content in real-time. All of this was running off an Intel Core i7-based desktop. Simply amazing.

Sync is in full force here in Las Vegas at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), so expect a plethora of blog posts and videos beginning tomorrow. We’ll be covering all the coolest gadgets and gear unveiled at the show. Kick-start the festivities with Sony’s live CES press conference right here.

Claiming to be the first network to do so, ESPN will be broadcasting live sporting events in 3D later this year on ESPN 3D.