With more people watching TV on their cellphones, Sharp Corp showed off a tiny liquid-crystal display yesterday that boasts four times better contrast than the best products commercially available.
The Japanese electronics maker will begin shipping the 5.6cm displays this fall, targeting ?100 billion (US$837 million) in sales next year, company spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama said.
Mobile phones that receive terrestrial digital TV broadcasts, which began in April last year in Japan, are increasingly popular, and such handsets are expected to reach a shipment of 10 million here.
Global demand is also expected to grow, as such broadcasts have started up in Europe and are rolling out in the US, Nakayama said.
"The culture for watching TV on cellphones is catching on," she said.
Osaka-based Sharp's new display for cellphones, digital cameras and other mobile gadgets has a contrast of 2,000 to one, far better than the 500 to one ratio today, allowing for more colorful and clearer images, according to Sharp.
In a demonstration to reporters yesterday, Sharp, which also makes the Aquos line of flat televisions, showed images of chili peppers and a panda bear to demonstrate the difference between the new displays and previous models.
RSS