Sharp has succeeded in developing a new LCD for mobile equipment such as mobile phones. The new Sharp LCD features the industry’s highest contrast ratio of 2,000:1, a wide viewing angle of 176 degrees that is top class in the industry, and a high-speed response time of 8 ms and image quality nearly as high as that of LCD TVs. This autumn, Sharp is scheduled to make a sample shipment of the new LCDs for One-Seg-compatible mobile phones. Sharp will then use the new LCDs to expand its lineup of mobile phones and to further develop the application of these new LCDs in digital cameras.
One-Seg-compatible mobile phones are capable of receiving terrestrial digital TV broadcasts. The total number of shipments of such phones is expected to surpass 10 million in Japan this summer. Because similar broadcasting service has already started in Europe and the US, world demand for mobile phones able to receive digital TV broadcasting is expected to increase.
