Sharp

13-inch Retina MacBook Pro displays in production

Production is under way for a Retina display targeted at a more mainstream MacBook Pro, CNET has learned.

Production has begun of a 2,560-by-1,600 pixel density display that will land on a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim told CNET.

"The supply chain indications are that it's for a MacBook Pro 13.3 -- not a MacBook Air," said Shim.

Displays are being made by Samsung, LGD, and Sharp, he said.

Shim said that production volume is expected to be substantially higher out of the gate compared to the current 15.4-inch … Read more

Five best LED TVs for picture quality

This year the gap between the picture quality of the best LED/LCD TVs and the best plasma TVs has grown wider than ever. Unless you're interested in overspending for buying a Sharp Elite, there's no 2012 LED TV that can come close to the picture quality of even midlevel plasmas like the Panasonic TC-PST50 and Samsung PNE6500.

But maybe you're simply not interested in plasma. If that's the case, then check out the following list of 2012 TVs that (A) employ an LCD panel illuminated by LEDs and (B) perform better than most such TVs. The list doesn't include the Elite and the Sony XBR-HX929 simply because they debuted in 2011; both are excellent performers, still current and exceedingly expensive. It also considers picture quality only, so if you're interested in seeing the best LED TVs overall, including some that scored well according to our other TV reviews criteria, here ya go.

The list appears in descending order of picture quality.… Read more

Sharp looks to sell TV assembly plants in Mexico, China, report says

Sharp is in desperate need of some cash. And it's trying to find any opportunity to raise some.

The company is considering selling two TV assembly plants in Mexico and China, The Wall Street Journal reported today, citing sources. The company is considering selling the plants to manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry -- better known as Foxconn -- or to a joint venture called Sharp Display Products Corp. run by Sharp and Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou, according to the Journal.

If Sharp sells the facilities, the company would shed 3,000 employees from its workforce, helping it to … Read more

Android, Apple tops among smartphone users in Japan

Android and Apple dominate the smartphone market in Japan just as they do elsewhere in the world.

Looking at Japanese smartphone ownership in the three months ending June, ComScore found that Android took home the lion's share with a 64 percent share, up almost two points from the prior three months. Apple's iOS grabbed a 32 percent share.

That left Microsoft's Windows Phone in third place with 3 percent of the Japanese market. RIM's BlackBerry OS and Nokia's Symbian combined eked out less than half a percentage point.

More than 25 million Japanese consumers owned … Read more

Apple supplier Hon Hai renegotiating its deal for part of Sharp

Apple supplier Hon Hai's deal to buy part of Sharp Electronics is up in the air for now as the two companies try to hammer out a new agreement.

The two told Reuters that a joint statement about the status of a renegotiated deal would likely be delayed until later in August after Japan's holiday season.

Revealed in March, the deal would have seen Hon Hai buy around 11 percent of the struggling Sharp and 46.5 percent of the company's LCD TV factory in Sakai, Japan. That would have left 46.5 percent of the plant … Read more

Sharp to cut 5,000 workers by March as revenue plummets

After posting a disappointing quarter for the period ended June 30, Sharp has announced plans to reduce its workforce.

The company today said that it plans to cut 5,000 jobs by the end of March (PDF), reducing its global workforce by 8.8 percent to land at 51,700 employees. The cuts will come via voluntary and mandatory retirement. Sharp also plans to make "off-balance-sheet arrangements."

Sharp's workforce reductions comes amid troubling times for the company. Earlier today, Sharp announced that its revenue was down 28.4 percent year-over-year to land at 458.6 billion yen ($… Read more

Sharp: We're shipping iPhone 5 displays this month

Sharp is producing the screen for Apple's next iPhone and will have it ready to ship this month, the Japanese company said in a press briefing in Tokyo today.

According to Reuters, which was in attendance at the event, Sharp president Takashi Okuda told reporters that "shipments will start in August" of the screen for the upcoming Apple phone, widely presumed to be the iPhone 5. When pressed for more details on the device's screen, including when how large it might be, he declined to comment, according to Reuters.

However, Reuters is reporting today, citing a … Read more

World's saddest TV pitchman loses his marketing department

Regular readers -- at least those with a heart -- might remember the saddest man at this year's CES.

He was selling Sharp's televisions. No one was listening. And now I hear of more woes that might impact his performance next year.

For AdAge is reporting that Sharp has eliminated its whole marketing department. Entirely.

There were reportedly 12 people in Sharp's marketing. Now they have been entirely blunted.

Sharp's PR agency offered this commentary to AdAge:

The functions of (Sharp's) Marketing and Communications Department will now be contained within its individual business units. These … Read more

Five best matte-screen TVs for bright rooms

Updated August 16, 2012: We think a matte-screen finish offers the best picture quality in rooms where you can't control ambient light.

Most TVs are fine in normal lighting situations, and some glossy screens are better than others. But if you watch TV a lot in a very bright room, or have to place the set where its screen can't avoid reflecting a window or other bright light source, you should strongly consider going to the matte.

Unfortunately, most quality TVs have glossy screens. With LG going glossy on its higher-end LED models this year, the pickings are slimmer than in 2011. Sharp is a standout, Toshiba a pleasant surprise and Samsung uses matte in its lower-end EH lineup.

New in this update is the LG PM9700, the only plasma TV with a matte screen. I also included a sixth *bonus* TV since it's too good to pass up: Vizio's excellent M3D0KD, with its "semi-gloss" screen finish that's more reflective than the others, yet not as mirrorlike as truly glossy sets.

Here they are, arranged in descending order of overall CNET rating. … Read more

Sharp to pay near $200M to Dell, others to settle TFT case

Sharp will pay a total of $198.5 million to Dell and two other companies a part of an out-of-court settlement reached over the Japanese tech company's thin-film-transistor, or TFT business.

It's not clear from initial reports which companies are invovled or even what the suit pertained to. AT&T and Nokia both sued Toshiba a few years back and are likely the two unnamed companies paid in the settlement.

However, the news likely relates to last week's news that Toshiba, Samsung, LG, and Sharp colluded to fix prices of LCD panels.

Sharp said after "… Read more