Sharp Japan announced today it has developed a solar cell with the world’s highest conversion efficiency [press release in English]. The new product features an conversion efficiency of 35.8%, while Sharp only achieved 31.5% with the previous model. The latest model is a compound solar cell, in which two or more elements form photo-absorption layers (see the graphic below).
Sharp has on display a number of fun new gadgets at CEATEC. As is all too often the case, these things are for Japanese release only (at least for now). Maybe we’ll see them in a couple years. Read on for details on a dial-by-photo phone, newspapers on TV, solar-charging cell phones, and the Sharp Netwalker!
Next time I need a nice long nap I’m going queue up this video of some Russian dude going through the Sharp NetWalker PC-Z1. This monster video is 30 minutes long and involves such exciting discoveries as “a Youtube Player,” “spreadsheet clicking,” and “sniffles on camera.”
This video is truly akin to watching an old man try to fold a an old Chik-Fil-A wrapper on the bus: it’s vaguely disturbing but more fascinating in its uncontrolled precision.
Sharp has announced four new LCD TVs with some impressive specs for the Japanese market today [press release in English]. The TVs will be available in four sizes: 40, 46, 52 and 60 inches. All models are full HD and feature LED backlight for improved picture quality.
Sharp Japan today announced [press release in English] the development of a new method that makes it possible to control the alignment of liquid crystal molecules in LCD screens with high precision. In practical terms, this means the new UV2A technology could lead to TVs that save energy and display pictures with higher contrast ratios.
Sharp Japan today said [press release in English] it supplied a total of 2,176 high-quality solar cells to a research team developing a sun-powered racing car at Japan-based Tokai University. The cells used for the car are usually powering satellites and measure 77 x 39mm, which translates back to a total area of about 6m2.
This teeny, tiny little laptop is really teeny. It almost unusable and, as to be expected from Japanese laptops like these, not really meant for the Shrek-like Western mitts. The woman who showed it to me was really nice.
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In Japan, Sharp has been known for their ultra-mobile Zaurus for quite a while now, and today, the company added a new mini device to its line-up of mini laptops, the PC-Z1 [press release in English]. Marketed as a “Mobile Internet Tool”, the PC-Z1 comes with a tiny 5-inch TFT LCD (a touchscreen) and measures just 161.4 x 108.7 x 19.7 ~ 24.8mm (weight: 409g).
Even in cell phone-crazy Japan, the fixed-line phone isn’t quite dead yet. And Sharp Japan’s JD-7C1CL/CW [JP], announced yesterday, is proof there’s still room for mild innovation in that area. The cordless phone is bundled with a 7-inch touch panel that can be used for various functions.
I am seeing more and more TV/Blu-ray combos in Japanese electronics stores, and today Sharp announced [JP] a total of 13 new LCD TVs boasting a built-in Blu-ray recorder. The AQUOS DX2 series consists of screens measuring 26/32/40/46 and 52 inches.
The consolidation process in the Japanese home electronics business goes on and on. Today former rivals Sharp and Sony said [JP] they reached a final agreement to launch an LCD panel joint venture in Osaka, after having failed to ink the deal last month. In March already, Sharp said it wants Sony as a partner for its plans to boost the production of LCD TVs.
I would say that it’s a good sign for the worldwide economy that Sharp is increasing its LCD panel production by tens of thousands of screens per month. Sharp is after all one of the largest provider of OEM LCD screens which get sold not only under the Sharp brand but many others too. The company is raising it’s forecasted output from 120 million to 127 million as the LCD demand rises in developing nations.
PCWorld is stating that China alone will account for 24 million panels this year alone, which is a lot of screens. Hopefully US consumers will be able to account for a good chunk of sales too. But first we have to jobs.
Sharp is rolling out some new Aquos HDTVs, with the coveted LED backlighting, but for some reason aren’t going the whole hog with local-dimming LED arrays and all that internet connectivity Samsung and Vizio seem to like. That’s weird, because Sharp Japan is doing it. Why no love for the US?
Japan, the world’s second largest economy with the third biggest Internet population, and the many, many early adopters of technology inhabiting this nation could be heaven for the domestic cell phone industry. And it was for years, until sales started slowing dangerously (minus 30% last fiscal year), and the overall population is poised to shrink and age dramatically in the future.
These two developments made a handful of Japanese cell phone makers think about moving away from creating all those fancy Nippon-only phones they’ve been producing for years. Now NEC and Panasonic seem to be finally ready to export some models – as early as next fiscal year, according to Japan’s biggest business newspaper Nikkei.
Hard disks and recording media to store data are great and all, but especially for sensitive information (such as corporate data) longevity and reliability are major problems. The usual recording media existing on the market last for a few decades max, but now Japan tries to develop a device that stores data for a thousand years.
Sharp has developed an LCD screen that can display a total of five primary colors, two more than usually used. In addition to red, green and blue, the prototype features cyan and yellow color filters. The result: A screen capable of reproducing 99% of the surface colors existing in the real world through what Sharp calls “Multi-Primary-Color Technology”.
Japan’s telecommunications giants NTT Docomo, KDDI au and SoftBank present new cell phones four times a year: spring, summer, fall and winter. All companies showcased their summer 2009 wares in the last few days, including some simply incredible devices.
The top 10 models across all carriers (chosen by yours truly) after the jump.
It was just a matter of time, but frankly speaking, I am amazed at how fast Sharp makes its mini solar panel (67.5 x 41.0 x 0.8 mm) available to manufacturers worldwide [link in English]. After all, the company’s solar-powered cell phone that uses the so-called LR0GC02, isn’t even on sale yet (not even in Japan where sales start next month).
Japanese telecommunications giants SoftBank and Docomo unveiled their summer 2009 line-ups last week and were followed by the country’s No. 2 carrier, KDDI au, today. While SoftBank is to roll out 15 new cell phones this summer and Docomo even presented 17 models, KDDI au showed only 8 new candy bars [JP] in the morning. But some of these are amazing.
Both Sharp and Mitsubishi have announced new LCD TVs for the Japanese market, and both devices seem to be pretty interesting. They will be available over here as early as next month, with neither Sharp nor Mitsubishi having said anything about an international release yet.
