Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Sharp is harnessing the power of the sun to create an energy-efficient and environment-friendly LCD TV. In the forthcoming G8 Summit, the Japanese TV manufacturer will show off a prototype of its 26-inch LCD TV using solar panel as its main source of energy.

Sharp claims this new technology reduces annual energy consumption by about 75% compared to the existing 26-inch LCD TVs available in the market today. Moreover, the new triple-junction thin-film solar module technology is free of toxic materials. Not to mention that using solar panel reduces fossil fuel consumption.

While the company’s main objective is to provide TV to approximately 6 billion people on earth with scarce or no electricity, this prototype is also relevant to all of us in the face of mounting increase in gas prices and our fondness for supporting “green” products.

No word yet on the availability or pricing of this solar-powered LCD TV. I’m hoping this socially responsible product will be affordable to the developing countries considering its objective.

Via [CrunchGear]

This may be a ridiculous idea to some, but we have to admit that for others, Walt Disney is such a cult that would merit its own mobile phone model. Hence, Walt Disney has partnered up with Sharp to develop a Disney-inspired mobile handset. Don’t even think of protesting against the idea, as both companies are about to launch the new mobile phone, dubbed as the DM002SH on June 7 in Japan.

And what a better way to launch the said Disney phone but to pour in some good old Cinderella content into it? Cute? Well, that’s not to say that the DM002SH is nothing but cutesy Disney stuff, as the phone is also packed with some basic features including a 2.6-inch internal display with WQVGA resolution, a 0.5-inch external OLED display, 50MB of internal memory, a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, microSD slot and 1Seg Tuner. In addition the DM002SH will also use the Disney Mobility service which is available with Softbank in Japan.

No pricing details are available yet, but we know for sure that this mobile phone will come in Clear Crystal, Brown Topaz and Pink Diamond colors.

Via [Akihabara News]

Here’s something to make us envy our mobile phone savvy friends in Japan yet again. The Sharp Willcom 03 smartphone was announced in Japan, and boasts an innovative interface heralded by a split touchscreen feature, wherein the lower part can switch between a key and a media button layout. This is in addition to the standard slide out QWERTY keyboard. Like we said, the Sharp Willcom 03 is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 and as such, although not explicitly mentioned by Sharp and Willcom, it might come with pre-installed mobile office applications.

In addition, this phone offers a 3-inch touch screen display, powered by Marvell PXA270 processor at 520 MHz, USB, IrSS, Bluetooth and microSD card slot for storage expansion. The Sharp Willcom 03 will come in Pink, Gold or Lime and will be priced at around $611 once it hits the Japanese streets, which is expected sometime soon.

Product [Sharp Willcom] Via [I4U News]

Move over, 007 – the doors to spy craft just opened to the public. Sharp recently announced its new 5-megapixel CMOS camera (RJ63SC100), purportedly the world smallest. Measuring in at only 9.5 x 9.5 x 6.6mm, the device even offers auto focus for better image quality. The new camera will expected to be available for mass production in July. The camera’s diminutive size, surprising thinness, and high resolution would enable future devices (phones, etc.) to have ultra small cameras.  While it is easy to see its use in the race for smaller and sleeker phones, more inventive uses (shades cam? Camera in your shirt buttons?) are also possible. 

Via [Hiptop3]

Our TV loving friends from Japan will surely not run out of LCD TV choices thanks to Sharp, who has just unveiled not just one but twenty-two new LCD’s in their RX5, GX5 and DS5 series.

The RX5 series will be available in 65, 52 and 46-inches. These LCD’s tout a total contrast ratio of 20000:1 and 450cd/m2 brightness. They will come in full HD glory with 120GHz panel and 12bit BDE image processor. LCD’s falling under Sharp’s GX5 series will have full HD and HD ready panels with sizes ranging from 26-inches up to 52-inches, a 120Hz ASV panel and contrast ratio of 2000:1 with 450cd/m2 brightness. And finally we have the DS5 series which will come in three full HD models with 32-inch up to 42-inch sizes. These LCD’s will come with 2000:1 contrast ratio and a brightness of 450cd/m2, however the 120Mhz ASV panel will not be included in this series feature lineup.

And now for the biggest news of all? These Sharp LCD’s will be preloaded with a tuned Yahoo! page to give you quick access to Yahoo! right in your spanking new Sharp LCD. This is courtesy of Sharp and Yahoo! Japan’s partnership. Pricing information, release date and details of whether these LCD’s will be shipped internationally are not yet available.

Via [Akihabara News]

Sharp has expanded its Professional LCD Monitors with the launch of the TL Professional LCD Monitor Line. LCD’s in this product line will have a full 1920 x 1080 2-megapixel high-definition resolution display. To kick off the launch the product line, Sharp has released the 52-inch TL-M5200 and the 46-inch TL-M4600.

Both of these LCD’s give out a high image quality, features and performance which are perfect for teleconferencing, CAD/Simulation, digital signage, corporate, educational, training, hospitality, sports arenas, entertainment and house-of worship. In addition these LCD’s are also easy to install with their lightweight cabinet design, and even come equipped with RJ-45 LAN Control for network connectivity. Other features of these two new LCD’s include Advanced Super View panel, 1500:1 (TL-M4600) and 2000:1 (TL-M5200) contrast ratios, advanced signal processing, an HDCP compatible HDMI input, and a built-in web browser.

The Sharp TL-M4600 and TL-M5200 LCD’s retail for $4,995 and $3,995 at all Sharp retail outlets.

Via [Akihabara News]

Sharp and Amimon, an emerging leader in semiconductor technology for wireless high-definition video, have combined their technology to bring wireless HDTV experience to users of Sharp’s LCD display units. Slated for a release in Japan soon, Sharp’s super-thin X-series LCD displays will be equipped with Amimon’s Wireless High Definition Interface (HDMI) 1080p wireless technology. For us users, this simply means that we would no longer have to connect any cables to our TVs since all the necessary wires and cables of the Sharp LCD displays will be tucked in a separate set-top box. 

MORE »

Electronics product maker Sharp is thinking of the kids with their latest PMP, and adds a little educational functionality to the thing aside from its regular multimedia features. The name of their new product is the RD-CX310, and it’s a little PMP that other than playing your music and converted videos, tells you the meaning of words via a built in dictionary. But mind you, it doesn’t only have a single dictionary, but a total of 82 dictionaries with English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and Korean. Twenty unspecified audio books are also included in the package, supposedly from the world’s best novelists. And let’s not forget it has the capabilities of any other portable media player, and these include a 4.3-inch color screen, a 30GB internal HDD, built-in FM tuner, video recorder and support for a multitude of file types: WMV9, MPEG-4 DivX, Mp3 and WMA to be exact. Sadly, this seems to be only available to all the cool kids in Korea for now. Oh well, we can dream, can’t we?

Via [Akihabara News]

Sharp and Willcom have delivered a tiny yet powerful device with the D4 UMPC. Boasting of being the first UMPC with Intel’s Atom Centrino processor inside, the D4 runs at 1.3 GHz, has a 5-inch LED back-lit touchscreen display with a 1024 x 600 resolution, 1GB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, 2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and a full QWERTY keyboard.

With a high-powered processor and memory, it’s no wonder that D4 comes preloaded with Windows Vista Home Edition. The D4 UMPC weighs just under one pound and measures 3.3 x 7.4 x 1.0-inches. Other goodies include a built-in one seg TV tuner and a memory expansion slot for microSD.

The D4 UMPC will be release to the Japanese market sometime in June for around $1,280 equivalent in Japanese Yen. It is configured with Japan’s PHS system for phone calls so it might take some time before it gets released internationally.

Via [Gizmodo] Via [AV Watch]

Sharp has introduced two new laptops into the Japanese market, the PC-FW70X and PC-FW50X. While the two laptops’ external design and color choices (black and white) may remind you of the MacBook, make no mistake because neither of them will match up to the computing powers of the MacBook.

Both laptops have a 15.4-inch LCD with 1280 x 800 resolution and are either powered by AMD Turion 64 or Mobile Sempron 3600 with AMD M690V Chipset. Both are covered by UV coated case that also serve as protection from UV rays. Other features of these two laptops include; 2GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive, DVD multi drive, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and infrared support. And for the clincher? The PC-FW70X has a battery life span of 1.1 hours while the PC-FW50X’s battery lasts for an estimated 50 minutes. The notebooks also weigh in at around 5.74-pounds. I wonder what’s inside those batteries if they could only last that long. Major bummer, eh?

Via [Akihabaranews.com] Product [Sharp]