Aug 04

7-inch Sharp Galapagos A01SH tablet sees formal introduction, hitting the US ‘this year’

Posted in: 7-inch, Android, honeycomb, Japan, Sharp, Today's Chili
How much is that tablet in the window? The one with the 7-inch screen and Android 3.2? Hard to say, but it might be the Sharp Galapagos A01SH you’re looking at. The slate, announced in earnest today, should fit comfortably betwixt the 5.5- and 10.8-inch variants of the lineup that are also expected to arrive sometime before the end of the year. The A01SH is accompanied by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core CPU with 1GB of RAM, a WSVGA display with 1,024 x 600 resolution, 8GB of internal memory alongside microSD support, 5MP / 2MP cameras along the back and front, and 7.5 hours of battery life. At a thickness of 12.9mm, it’s not as thin as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but it’s no Toshiba Thrive, either. The tablet should reach stores in Japan by the end of the month, but the only timeframe given for a US release is before the ball drops in Times Square — perfect timing for anyone who wants to ring in 2012 snuggled up to a new gadget.

7-inch Sharp Galapagos A01SH tablet sees formal introduction, hitting the US ‘this year’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 28

Sony, Sharp and Fujitsu earnings all bring bad news, only Toshiba says something nice

Posted in: earnings, Sharp, sony, Today's Chili, Toshiba

Plenty of Japanese earnings news today and, as with Nintendo, most of it’s pretty dire. Sony’s hit from the earthquake and PSN outtage has inevitably contaminated this quarter, but it’s suffered from slow Bravia TV, PC and camcorder sales too. Together, these factors contributed a hefty ¥15.5 billion ($200 million) loss in the three months to the end of June, compared to a ¥25.7 billion profit for the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, Fujitsu also lost ¥20.4 billion, which it largely attributed to a 6.7 percent decline in Japanese sales following the disaster. However, sales in other countries also fell 5.3 percent, reflecting a stronger yen and general lack of consumer demand.

Despite everything, Sharp managed to make an operating profit of ¥3.5 billion — but this was down an eye-watering 84.4 percent on the same period last year. Like Sony, the company is suffering from weak demand for TVs, and says it’s switching one of its main TV panel plants to make smaller panels for mobile devices instead — including the iPhone and iPad.

There was some more upbeat news from Toshiba, however, which has managed to stay in the green. It reported a slight rise in net quarterly profit to ¥470 million due to demand for its power systems and home appliances. At least that’s a note worth ending on.

Sony, Sharp and Fujitsu earnings all bring bad news, only Toshiba says something nice originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 13

Sharp’s Molecular Beam Epitaxy machine births components in its space-like womb (video)

Posted in: LED, RobotApocalypse, Sharp, Today's Chili, video

A machine that builds other machines? Sounds like robot apocalypse time — except it’s not. This component-building, space-mimicking chamber of liquid nitrogen-cooled sterility gives birth to LEDs, not that kid from A.I. Housed in Sharp’s Oxford Laboratory, the Molecular Beam Epitaxy machine moves atoms “almost individually…to build the basis of high tech electronics.” Through the use of magnetic poles on the contraption’s exterior (kind of like in foosball), researchers can virtually manipulate substrates and elements, allowing for precise control and untainted crystal growth. While this MBE isn’t exactly new tech — larger commercial-grade versions already exist — it is noteworthy for its innovative petri-vacuum abilities. After all, progress has to start somewhere. Click past the break for the ominously toned video explanation.

Continue reading Sharp’s Molecular Beam Epitaxy machine births components in its space-like womb (video)

Sharp’s Molecular Beam Epitaxy machine births components in its space-like womb (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 30

Sharp sends another Galapagos tablet through the FCC, keeps all the pertinent details to itself

Posted in: android tablet, AndroidTablet, att, Sharp, Today's Chili
Over the past six months, we’ve gotten scant few details about when, exactly, Sharp’s Galapagos tablets will at last make the long trip stateside. When they do, though, it might be an even bigger family than we were expecting. We took note when the 10.8-inch EB-WX1GJ slipped through the FCC, making reference to another slate — the 5.5-inch EB-W51GJ — in its user manual. Now, yet another slate has passed the FCC’s battery of tests. It’s called the EB-W71LJ-H, and based on Sharp’s naming convention thus far, we suspect it could have a 7-inch display, which would be a nice, just-right complement to the 10- and 5-inch models we already knew about. Based on the test results, we also know it has a 802.11b/g/n WiFi radio, but other than that, the report is devoid of specs, as Sharp asked the FCC to refrain from playing show-and-tell with its trade secrets. For now, though, you at least don’t have to wonder where the company plans to slap that requisite label.

Sharp sends another Galapagos tablet through the FCC, keeps all the pertinent details to itself originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 20

Sharp Aquos SH-12C 3D smartphone hands-on (video)

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Google, hands-on, qualcomm, Sharp, smartphone, snapdragon, Today's Chili, video

Towards the end of our recent trip to Taiwan for Computex, just as the hustle and bustle was winding down and we’d settled on a bit of sightseeing, we stumbled upon a rare beast — a smartphone unicorn of sorts — the Sharp Aquos SH-12C. This 3D-capable Android handset for NTT’s Docomo network was imported from its native Japan by a Hong Kong resident who was also attending the epic trade show. Like the HTC EVO 3D, this device features twin cameras and a glasses-free stereoscopic qHD display, so we decided to combine work and play by getting some hands-on time with this mysterious phone right on the observation deck of Taipei 101. Take a look a our gallery below — complete with foggy views from the 89th floor at dusk — and hit the break for our hands-on video, first impressions and some camera samples.

Gallery: Sharp Aquos SH-12C 3D smartphone hands-on

Continue reading Sharp Aquos SH-12C 3D smartphone hands-on (video)

Sharp Aquos SH-12C 3D smartphone hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 17

Sharp Aquos Phone SHI12 visits the FCC, flaunts its 3D camera in drawings

Posted in: Japan, japanese, Sharp, Today's Chili
It’s rare that we see Sharp’s Aquos phones here in the US, but one model, at least, could be making the long journey stateside. A handset dubbed the CMDA SHI12 just cleared the FCC, and after comparing the drawings in the report to shots of devices already on the market, we’re pretty sure it’s the IS12SH that Sharp announced for Japan a few weeks back. Though the report is typically terse when it comes to specs, it does confirm that the phone has an 8 megapixel 3D rear-facing camera, Bluetooth, FeliCa, GPS, and tri-band CDMA (B0 / B3 / B6) connectivity. And though it’s not in the filing, if this is indeed the IS12SH, then it also has a 4.2-inch qHD display and runs Android 2.3 (or so we’d hope, anyway). Of course, an FCC filing doesn’t mean this will ever reach a carrier or go on sale in the US, period. But in case it does, don’t say we didn’t give you a heads up.

Continue reading Sharp Aquos Phone SHI12 visits the FCC, flaunts its 3D camera in drawings

Sharp Aquos Phone SHI12 visits the FCC, flaunts its 3D camera in drawings originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 13

Sharp begins Eco House evaluation in Japan, aims for eco-friendly tech mecca

Posted in: green, Japan, power, Sharp, Today's Chili

Looking at vacation homes in Osaka, are you? If you happen upon a blueprint that looks anything like the crib shown above, we’re guessing that it’ll cost you a pretty penny. Er, yen. Sharp has just started the evaluation process on its newly completed Eco House — an abode that aims to emit precisely zero carbon emissions while not compromising on the technology within it. It’s outfitted with a cadre of energy-saving appliances and AQUOS TVs, all networked in via HEMS and programmed to display energy usage to whatever landlord decides to stop by for the day. Not surprisingly, some of the energy is being sourced from photovoltaic modules, and we’re told that a downright absurd 180-inch LCD will be “evaluated for suitability to today’s green-conscious world.” Something tells us the company won’t have too many issues finding volunteers to occupy the joint.

Sharp begins Eco House evaluation in Japan, aims for eco-friendly tech mecca originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 01

NHK develops ultra high-def camcorder with single 33 megapixel sensor (video)

Posted in: camcorder, hdtv, Sharp, Today's Chili, video


As still cameras go, a 33MP sensor is rather insignificant, considering you may already be walking around with 200 megapixels on your shoulder. When it comes to camcorders, however, this is the real deal, especially when each and every one of those 33 million pixels is captured by a single, ultra high-def sensor. NHK’s research arm, which developed the cam, unveiled it at the company’s technology open house in Tokyo. This seems like the perfect imaging device to show off Sharp’s 33MP Super Hi-Vision TV, but that display must have been on duty at another booth. Also, the Sigma DSLR lens was focused on a still life, without any mention of frame rate, so we’re a bit skeptical as to whether this thing is fully functional at this point. Either way, it’s still just a prototype, so you won’t be shooting your home videos in quasi-IMAX resolution just yet. In the mean time, jump past the break for that motionless video demo.

Continue reading NHK develops ultra high-def camcorder with single 33 megapixel sensor (video)

NHK develops ultra high-def camcorder with single 33 megapixel sensor (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 20

Sharp Aquos Android clamshell tricks friends into thinking you can’t afford a smartphone

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Japan, Sharp, Today's Chili

Looking for a handset that harkens back to simpler, pre-smartphone era, without losing the Googley luster of Android? We’ve got the perfect phone for you, and all you’ve got to do is move to Japan and get a Softbank Mobile account. Sharp, one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in its native country, rolled out the retro-future Gingerbread-packing Aquos Phone Hybrid 007SH, an Android 2.3 flip phone with a 180-degree swiveling touchscreen above the hinge and a numeric dial pad below that all the cool kids in Shibuya crave. It’s also got some pretty solid specs, so far are clamshell phones go, including a 16MP camera and a 3D-capable display. The handset will hit Softbank in mid-June followed shortly by Sharp’s rotary Honeycomb tablet.

Continue reading Sharp Aquos Android clamshell tricks friends into thinking you can’t afford a smartphone

Sharp Aquos Android clamshell tricks friends into thinking you can’t afford a smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 21:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 19

Sharp shows off the world’s first Super Hi-Vision LCD with 16x more detail than 1080p

Posted in: Japan, LCD, Sharp, Today's Chili, video

While Japan’s NHK has been working on the successor to HDTV, Super Hi-Vision, for years, there haven’t been any direct-view HDTVs capable of showing its full 7,680 x 4,320 pixel resolution until this prototype unveiled today by Sharp. Its 103 pixels per inch may be just a fraction of those found in some of the pocket displays we’ve seen at SID this week, but that’s still far more than the 36ppi of a 60-inch 1080p HDTV. If estimates are correct, we’ll still be waiting until around 2020 for that 33MP video and 22.2 channel sound to actually be broadcast, although there’s a possibility of some demonstrations happening during the 2012 Olympics. Skip past the break for the available specs and a video demonstration, or just head over to the NHK’s Science & Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo between the 26th and 29th of this month.

Continue reading Sharp shows off the world’s first Super Hi-Vision LCD with 16x more detail than 1080p

Sharp shows off the world’s first Super Hi-Vision LCD with 16x more detail than 1080p originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 05:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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