a Sony S350 or a Panasonic DMP 35K

[complete_noob]

I apologize if this type of thread has already been posted ad nauseam.

Seeing the rather notable price drops amongst blu-ray players, I'm looking into buying my first player. After skimming through some of the threads on this forum, I think that I have narrowed down my choices to the Sony S350 and the Panasonic 35K with regards to ideal price range.

I'm planning on just playing the audio through the TV speakers via the HDMI cable. Also, I don't foresee BD-Live options/content being utilized often. My main points of concern are comparative picture quality, startup/load times, as well as speed and smoothness of disc menu navigation. I understand that the PS3 is still the fastest blu-ray player on the market, but how far behind are the S350 and 35K?

If I do purchase a player, I will most likely be picking up Iron Man and definitely the Dark Knight when it comes out in December.