Hasta La Gadget!

Look at the big TVs. They’re thin! They’re bright! They’re “smart.” They’re Sharp’s LED TVs, and they’re coming your way this year. More »

Sharp has pushed its displays to be bigger and better each year, and we don’t expect CES 2013 to be any different. With its IGZO technology there should be high res screens of all sizes, so tune in to see what’s new for this year.

Filed under: HD

Comments

Sharp has just unveiled its best and most expensive television. Dubbed as the ICC Purios, the 6-inch Ultra HD television is expected to hit the Japanese market on the 20th of February next year. Sony says that its 4K TV will cost Y2,625,000 or around $31,283, and that it will be sold on a made-to-order basis. Sony has yet to decide whether or not it will sell the 4K TV overseas. Commenting about its price, a Sony spokesperson said: “There may be other 4K TVs on the market, but our 4K TV offers images that are so realistic that viewers feel as if they were experiencing the scene in real life.” And similar to other 4K TVs, the ICC (Integrated Cognitive Creation) Purios will have a 3,840 × 2,160 screen resolution. The Consumer Electronics Association announced in October that it had altered the term of the technology “4K” to “UHD” or Ultra High Definition. At next year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Sharp will go head to head with Sony and Samsung in a battle of UHDs.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Matias Bluetooth Keyboard Hits The FCC, Nauticam NA-D600 Underwater Housing Announced For Nikon D600 ,

Sharp and Qualcomm subsidiary Pixtronix have inked a $120m deal which will see the two companies collaborate on energy-efficient IGZO displays for mobile devices, as Sharp struggles with falling market share. The deal – which will see Qualcomm inject up to 9.9 billion yen into Sharp – follows rumors of the display firm courting Qualcomm among other US companies, after long-term negotiations with Apple production partner Foxconn stumbled. As a result, the companies will set up a joint development on panels combining IGZO and MEMS display tech.

Those displays will be developed and produced at Sharp’s LCD panel plan in Yonago city, Japan. The technology will be a combination of Sharp’s indium gallium zinc oxide manufacturing, which uses a different semiconductor for reducing power consumption and increasing potential pixel density, and Qualcomm subsidiary Pixtronix’s micro electro mechanical systems, which use so-called “digital shutters” to improve picture quality while also dropping power demands.

Qualcomm acquired Pixtronix at the start of the year, though at the time it was expected that the company would use MEMS in its own mirasol low-power screens for ereaders. However, mirasol was sidelined midway through the year, with production plans frozen amid low yields, and Qualcomm instead exploring technology licensing instead.

“MEMS display to be developed jointly by the two companies is a display using ultrafine process technology and existing display manufacturing infrastructure” Sharp said of today’s deal, “with features including high color reproducibility and low-power consumption.” Sharp and Pixtronix have already been working together for the past 18 months.

Sharp is hoping the deal – which is expected to see it earn Qualcomm’s cash piecemeal, as different stages toward commercialization are reached – will jumpstart its small- to medium-sized LCD business. However, the company warns, while development and initial investment will begin immediately, the point at which actual production will begin is unclear; Sharp says it will only take that step when it makes financial and technological sense.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm and Sharp are keeping the door open to possible future collaboration, including working together on chipsets.

Sharp and Qualcomm ink $120m IGZO/MEMS mobile display deal is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sharp has reportedly begun talks with Dell, Intel, and other US companies for a potential share in the display firm, in a move that may be designed to put pressure on existing Foxconn negotiations. The discussions – which are also believed to be ongoing with Qualcomm, according to the WSJ‘s sources – would see struggling Sharp offer up a stake in return for as much as $240m depending on the suitor, with the spoils of the deal being a guaranteed supply of the company’s IGZO displays.

According to the insiders, Sharp is hoping to squeeze up to $240m from Intel or Dell, though its ambitions for Qualcomm investment are more modest. The display firm has been mired in ongoing negotiations with Foxconn/Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. for several months, with the firms needing to reach a conclusion by March 2013 but uncertainty around Sharp’s value stalling the deal.

Unofficially, however, a Sharp executive speaking to the newspaper said that while the companies continue to talk, “the unpredictability of its earnings are hindering” the likelihood of a deal. Others familiar with the deal have said that Sharp is laying on hyperbole about IGZO’s promise as a key negotiating point, routinely describing it as “potentially game-changing technology.”

That game-changer comes down to how IGZO works, replacing the substrate material among other changes, and in doing so reducing power consumption and increasing pixel density. That makes for displays that can offer the same brightness as regular LCD but with lesser power demands, or alternatively use the same power as traditional panels but for a much brighter picture, useful for outdoor applications.

IGZO production, however, has struggled to meet Sharp’s goals, and so far the panels are only showing up in a limited way in tablets and phones for the Japanese market. However, Sharp claims it is ready to offer a 32-inch IGZO panel that runs at an impressive 3840 x 2160 resolution, and which could well find its way into future Apple products according to some industry speculation.

In fact, Apple involvement in Sharp’s ongoing business has been the source of display channel muttering for some time. One analyst has suggested that a $2bn blip on Apple’s most recent financial results sheet was in fact a helping hand to the Japanese firm, potentially bringing forward future panel orders onto the books so as to help shore up the supplier.

Sharp has declined to comment on whether it is in negotiations with companies outside of Foxconn, and neither Dell, Qualcomm, nor Intel would comment on the rumors. It’s possible, however, that the move to widen negotiations – or, indeed, the leaks that such a move is being considered – is a tactical one to increase pressure on Foxconn management.

Sharp $240m talks tipped with Dell, Intel and Qualcomm: IGZO the prize is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.