Sharp Corp, Japan's largest maker of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) televisions, said it would start selling 17 new Aquos models in the country from March 10, focusing on large, high-definition sets to drive earnings.
The company will offer five new sets with screens measuring up to 65 inches (165cm), Sharp said yesterday at a news conference.
Unit prices start at ¥120,000 (US$1,000) for a 20-inch TV, while the largest model retails for ¥1 million, the company said.
"We are increasingly focusing on large-screen models," Mikio Katayama, who is in charge of Osaka-based Sharp's audio-visual and LCD business, told reporters. Monthly production of the five largest models will be between 1,000 and 5,000 units each, the company said.
The company is focusing on large, high-definition televisions to compete against rivals such as Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Inc, the world's largest maker of LCDs. Sharp plans to spend ¥200 billion in the year starting April to triple output of LCD panels for use in flat-panel televisions.
Sony Corp, the second-largest consumer electronics maker in the world, overtook rival Sharp and Samsung to secure the top spot in the global LCD television market for the first time last year, according to market researcher NPD Group Inc.
Tokyo-based Sony had a 16 percent share of LCD TV revenue, New York-based NPD Group said in a press release on Feb 13. Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung took second with 15 percent, while Osaka-based Sharp slipped to third with 11.5 percent.
The three biggest LCD makers are expanding production to lower unit costs and stay ahead of price declines that are prompting more consumers to replace bulkier conventional TVs with flat-panel models.
Japanese consumer electronics manufacturers have benefited from a weaker yen that increased the value of sales in the US and Europe last year. Sony last month posted record earnings in its consumer electronics division, partly on sales of flat-panel televisions.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, the world's largest maker of consumer electronics, retained the biggest share of the plasma television market with 29 percent, ahead of Seoul-based LG Electronics Inc with 16 percent and Samsung at 14 percent, NPD said.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known