IntoMobile » Sharp

Sharp AQUOS 206SH announced in Japan; Probably not hitting the West

Dusan Belic — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:29:53 +0000

Japan’s SoftBank has announced the Sharp AQUOS 206SH, a fancy-lookin’ Android 4.2 smartphone with features that include a 5-inch full HD screen, Qualcomm’s quad-core processor and 13.1-megapixel camera. All this comes as standard in similar products sold elsewhere (i.e. Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia Z, etc); what doesn’t is an enormous 3,080mAh battery, which is usually found in phablets with 5.3-inch or larger screens.

Sharp used the super-thin CG Silicon TFT LCD to make room for such big battery. The mentioned display also offers improved performance while consuming less power. It sounds almost too good to be true. And yes we want to see the same screen technology in other phones that are selling around the globe, not just in Japan. Though we don’t know when (or even whether) that will happen.

As for when Japanese can get the AQUOS 206SH, SoftBank will start selling it in June…

[Via: GSMarena]

Japanese Report Points To iPhone 5S Screen Production, Same Size as iPhone 5

Ian Kersey — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:18:27 +0000

According to Venture Beat, a report from Japan is pointing to iPhone 5S production, with Sharp, Japan Display and LG beginning their screen production runs in June of this year. The screen production timetable line up with Tim Cook’s earlier statements, where he indicated that there would be no new product launches until after the summer.

Apple added Sharp to the list of screen manufacturers last year in an attempt to met the overwhelming demand for its devices. Japan Display and LG have manufactured screens for Apple devices for some time now. The Japanese report indicates that the screen size for the next iteration of Apple’s iPhone will be the same size and shape of the iPhone 5, which leads us to believe that Apple is producing an iPhone 5S, and not an iPhone Mini which has been rumored for some time.

What exactly Apple has in store for us is still a surprise, and just because this report points to a screen size the same as the iPhone 5 does not mean that an iPhone mini is not in the cards.

[Via: Venture Beat]

Samsung invests $110 million in Sharp’s LCD-making business

Dusan Belic — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:25:19 +0000

Samsung has invested $110 million (10.4 billion JPY) in Sharp’s LCD-making business in a move that could impact Apple’s supply of iPhone and iPad screens. The Korean giant secured itself 3.08% of the voting rights in Sharp, with the Japanese company issuing new shares through a third party allotment to Samsung Electronics Japan.

At the same time, Samsung has established a capital alliance with Sharp to “continuously provide a long-term, stable and timely supply” of LCD panels for mobile devices, tablets, laptop computers and TV sets.

Aside from Apple, Sharp is also supplying its LCD panels to Samsung and other smartphone and tablet makers (as well as manufacturers of computers and TVs).

It’s still unclear how this alliance could impact Apple but it’s likely Samsung will want to have as many tools as possible at its disposal to win in the smartphone game. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear something new to add to this story…

[Via: MobileWorldLive]