Hasta La Gadget!

This week, Sony launched the first commercial 400mW blue–violet laser diode for Blu-ray. The higher-power lasers can perform triple or even quadruple-layer recording at 8X-12X speeds, storing up to 128GB on a single disc.

Sony’s blue-violet laser diode, called the SLD3237VF, will cost about $12. Until the Blu-ray Super-Sized to 128GB, Requires New Player“>multi-layer BDXL spec is supported by players that can read the higher-storage discs, Sony says the new laser will allow a greater range of lenses and prisms to be used in constructing Blu-Ray devices, freeing up some of the restrictions on current hardware. Devices with the more powerful lasers already in place will be easier to upgrade later.

A year ago, Sharp announced a similar technical breakthrough with a 500mW blue-violet laser, with plans to ship in late 2010. Sharp representatives did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

In laboratory experiments, Sony’s Advanced Materials Laboratories and their research partners at Tohoku University have developed blue-violet ultra-fast pulsed semiconductor lasers that can generate as much as 100W. In addition to industrial and nanotech applications, Sony is already experimenting using these lasers to create next-generation optical storage of even higher capacities.

Image above of 100W Experimental Laser by Sony via Semiconductor Today.

See Also:

• Android App Uses Cellphone Camera to Measure Air Pollution …
• Will New Blu-ray Drives Suck Your Laptop Battery Dry?
• Blu-Ray Ups Ante on Data Storage
• Wired 10.06: Start
• Blu-ray Super-Sized to 128GB, Requires New Player
• Refreshed Sony Vaio L Combines Touchscreen, Blu-ray Burner …
• Versatile New Laser May Change Surgery, Metallurgy and More
• Texans Build World's Most Powerful Laser

Sharp’s NTT DoCoMo-living / Android-loving Lynx SH-10B isn’t brand new by any stretch — it hit local markets in late July, and earlier this year was released on KDDI as the ISO1 — but this week’s CEATEC would be the first time we’ve had a chance to play around with, and given the dearth of comparable US form factors, we couldn’t resist. The 5-inch 960 x 480 resolution MID / smartphone sports a pretty snappy and easy-to-use keyboard and a responsive touchscreen. Unless you’ve already prepared for the likes of Dell’s Streak, the Lynx isn’t exactly pocketable, and by our estimates, it’s about twice the thickness o the iPhone 4 when closed up. The customized UI (running over what we presume is Android 1.6) is pretty unique in design, although functionally there was some minor lag in change panels and opening panes. You know the drill: pics below. Enjoy!

Sharp Lynx SH-10B is a MIDdling Android smartphone we could get behind (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp’s 5.5-inch and 10.8-inch Galapagos are something to covet. Sharp’s got the Android-powered e-reading tablets heavily on display here at CEATEC, meaning of course we jumped at the chance to try it ourselves. The interface is a bit sluggish, as is pinch-to-zoom on the browser. That said, pages (like our darling Engadget) displayed in full and were crisp, as were the supplied magazine examples (Newsweek, GQ — all in Japanese, naturally). Flash 10 is supported, although we didn’t get a chance to try it. The missing trackball on the 10.8-inch model wasn’t much of a concern, as it was all but redundant on the 5.5-incher. Looks promising now, but with its US launch not expected until sometime in 2011, no telling what the competition might look like by then. More pictures in the gallery below!

Continue reading Sharp Galapagos e-reading tablets hands-on (video)

Sharp Galapagos e-reading tablets hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WVGA’s so 2009, isn’t it? Sharp has broken Android’s usual 800 (or 854) x 480 mold this week with the introduction of the IS03 for Japan’s KDDI au network, boasting a full 960 x 640 on its 3.5-inch screen — matching the iPhone 4’s so-called retina display — along with Advanced Super View (ASV) technology, delivering the same kind of viewing angle benefits you find in IPS. If that alone doesn’t make for enough of a monster spec sheet for you, consider that the IS03 also features a 9.6 megapixel autofocus camera with image stabilization, one-seg TV tuner, and Osaifu-Keitai, which allows the phone to be used for contactless payments in subways and the like. Though you won’t find it sold outside Japan, you might eventually see one outside Japan thanks to support for Global Passport CDMA, meaning the IS03 can be used in countries that have operating CDMA networks — the US, for example. Unfortunately, it’s running Android 2.1, but let’s be honest: the monster hardware might be enough to overcome that little oversight. Look for this puppy to launch in three colors next month.

Sharp’s IS03 Android phone packs retina display, minus the branding pretense originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 06:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another major electronics manufacturer is throwing its hat into what’s setting up to be a gigantic year for Android-based tablets. Sharp this week introduced two new tablets set for a Japanese release early next year. Both devices bear the name Galapagos, inspired by the islands that Charles Darwin helped make famous–a nod to technological evolution, no doubt.

The company introduced a 5.5 inch mobile device and less portable 10.8 inch device, which dwarfs the 9.7 inch iPad. Both devices will be compatible with the e-bookstore the company is set to launch in December of this year. As it grows, the service will begin to offer a more iTunes-like selection, offering up movies, music, and games for the devices.

The device will also offer newspapers and magazines for paid download.

No real word on when the devices are officially coming to the States, though Sharp says that they will launch them in Europe and the US “as soon as possible,” for whatever that’s worth.