Hasta La Gadget!

[CEATEC 2013] If you thought that your small tablet or smartphone has one of the best displays that you have ever laid your eyes upon, think again. Sharp could very well change the way things work in the future with their Sharp MEMS/IGZO Display. MEMS stands for MicroElectroMechanical Systems, and IGZO is the acronym for Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide, where the latter would allow higher resolution displays to enjoy a faster refresh rate. For instance the tiny display that you see above carries a resolution of 800 x 1,280 pixels, while sporting a 220ppi pixel density.

It is a compelling case to see this low powered display make its way to smartphones as well as tablets of the future, and we are definitely not going to rule out other applications such as small displays which can be used at stores for advertising or product information services, e-book readers, smart watches, and other kinds of devices that will require a small display. Small and beautiful, this is one of those cases where it pays to see it in the flesh – mere words are unable to translate the viewing experience. Once you check out the Sharp MEMS/IGZO display, it is very difficult to return to that plain old average tablet or smartphone for good.

Sharp MEMS/IGZO Display original content from Ubergizmo.

Kicking off this week’s CEATEC show in Japan, Sharp has played to its strengths with its new Windows 8 tablet, the Mebius Pad, factoring in a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution display. That puts it pretty far ahead of the current crowd of 1080p Windows 8 tablets, including Microsoft’s incoming Surface 2, although we admit, we’d have loved to have seen another incredible 4K tablet. Regardless, that’s the highest resolution Windows 8 tablet we’ve seen yet. Alongside the company’s 10.1-inch IGZO panel (known for their low-power credentials), the Mebius Pad runs on a slightly less-exciting Intel quad-core Atom processor (the Z3370), which we’ve had mixed feelings on when it comes to the Windows tablets its powered in the past. The basic Windows 8.1 model will arrive with Office for free, although you’ll have to pay extra if you want it for the Pro edition. Also, following Japanese trends for practically any device, the slab is both water and dust-proof (it’s in the midst of being certified for IPX5, IPX7, IP5X), while you’ll be able to buy it with LTE radios on board, at least for Nippon, as the device is unlikely to leave Japanese shores once it launches in early 2014.

Unsurprisingly, in the flesh the screen looked good — Sharp even provided a magnifying glass so we could get up close to those pixels. The 10.1-inch display is also satisfyingly bright — if we’re honest, it’s unusual to see such a capable screen powered by an Atom processor. The tablet is headed towards business use (which explains the optional stylus) and the extra resolution found on Sharp’s first Windows 8 tablet means there’s more space for your spreadsheets and documents. The hardware itself is suitably thin and light, with the rear of the device bearing a passing resemblance to recent Sony hardware — possibly due to the understated camera lens in the corner. We’ll let you know if Sharp has plans to offer the tablet to global business types. %Gallery-slideshow99502%

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A smartphone “AQUOS PHONE SERIE SHL22″ , manufactured by Sharp, will be released by au by KDDI on July 12. It has 4.9 inch IGZO LCD and high-capacity 3,080mAh battery built-in.

You can read the detail of the smartphone in the article about au 2013 summer new collection press conference that took place in last May.

A mere month after ASUS unveiled its 31.5-inch 4K monitor to the world, and the humbly-named PQ321 is already available for pre-order on Amazon, Newegg and TigerDirect. As a reminder, the Ultra HD display boasts a jaw-dropping 3840 x 2160-pixel 10-bit RGB (a billion colors) IGZO panel with LED backlight, 176-degree viewing angles, a maximum of 350 cd/m2 in brightness and 8ms GTG response time. Built-in stereo speakers sweeten the package, as does a 3.5mm audio jack, DisplayPort connectivity and dual HDMI inputs. Oh, and did we mention it’s also apparently the thinnest 4K monitor on the market at only 35mm thick? However, you’ll have to pay a pretty penny for all that awesomeness: it has an introductory price of $3,499.99. That’s about $300 less than what was announced a month ago, but it’s still not exactly cheap. The PQ321 is set for a July 16th release date, so you still have a couple weeks to bribe relatives, rob a bank or sell off any unwanted organs.

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Via: ZDNet

Source: Amazon, NewEgg, TigerDirect

Chipmaker Qualcomm has finalized its investment in beleaguered display manufacturer Sharp. Announced back in December 2012 and totaling $120 million, the second portion of the investment was delayed earlier this year when Sharp failed to satisfy conditions for the investment. Sharp’s now confirmed the transaction, which gives Qualcomm a 3.53 percent share of the display maker, and will presumably increase its involvement on new screen tech being developed between the two companies. The combination of Qualcomm’s MEMs display products and Sharp’s high-resolution IGZO screens will apparently make its way into a number of devices in varying sizes. Qualcomm isn’t the only company with a vested interest in Sharp’s recovery, either — Samsung also holds a 3 percent stake.

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Source: Sharp (PDF)