Foxconn knew about Samsung’s plan to invest in Sharp. Foxconn-Samsung partnership in the making?
Yesterday Sharp announced that Samsung bought a bit more than 3% of its shares, paying around $111 million, and in the process becoming the Japanese company’s biggest shareholder that isn’t a financial institution. Now this is good news for troubled Sharp, as well as for Samsung, since its investment secured it a steady supply of [...]
Samsung buys 3% stake in Sharp for $111 million, secures LCD screen supply
Samsung has just bought a 3.08% stake in Sharp, the ailing Japanese corporation that makes highly coveted LCD screens for everything from TVs to phones. This has cost Samsung around $111 million. And while 3% hardly sounds like a lot, this makes Samsung Sharp’s biggest shareholder that isn’t a financial institution, and the fifth biggest [...]
DoCoMo announces LG Optimus G Pro, Huawei Ascend D2, Sony Xperia Z and other Android Jelly Bean phones
Last night, when reporting about the arrival of LG’s Optimus G in more than 5 markets, I assumed that LG won’t announce the Optimus G Pro too soon. I was wrong. The G Pro has been officially presented today in Japan, where NTT DoCoMo has included in its Spring line-up. The Optimus G Pro (model [...]
Sharp’s 1080p Android Jelly Bean phone priced, compared to Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X+
First seen earlier this month, the Sharp Aquos SH930W is the Japanese company’s only smartphone to have a Full HD (1920 x 1080) display. And, of course, it’s also one of the first in the world to sport such a screen. We already told you that the SH930W would be released in Russia. And now [...]
Sharp Aquos Phone SH930W headed to Russia with 5-inch 1080p touchscreen
Sharp is apparently about to announce the Aquos Phone SH930W for Russia on Thursday, November 8. This smartphone (or rather, phablet) comes with the company’s famous very own 5-inch 1080p Full HD touchscreen and its 440+ ppi. The display is also of the IGZO variety (indium gallium zinc oxide), which means it offers improved image [...]
Sharp starts mass production of Full HD (1080p), 443 PPI 5 inch smartphone displays
Japanese giant Sharp announced that it’s starting mass-production of 5 inch smartphone displays with Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) this month. At 443 PPI, the new displays have the highest pixel density ever achieved on a smartphone screen. The highest current density is around 340 PPI (Sony Xperia V, Xperia S, and HTC [...]
iPhone 5 displays will be shipped by Sharp this month
September 12 is looking more and more likely to be the date on which Apple will announce the new iPhone. After the initial speculation on this matter, three different sources chimed in with the same date. So this might be it. If Apple is to release the new smartphone soon after that, then obviously production [...]
Sharp Aquos Phone SL IS15SH is a smartphone that looks like a sliding featurephone from yesteryear
Sharp’s newest smartphone for its home market of Japan looks nothing like a smartphone. In fact, it reminds us of the once ubiquitous portrait-sliding featurephones such as the Samsung D600, which were very popular across the world a long time ago. Perhaps taking inspiration from the fashion world, where everything old is always new again, [...]
Sharp to move its phone and tablet display tech to a Foxconn plant in China
Sharp is set to move its advanced small-to-medium LCD panel technology to a Foxconn plant which is currently being built in China’s Sichuan province. That effectively means that all of Sharp’s top technology for making displays for phones and tablets will be moved from Japan to this new Chinese factory. This is another step in [...]
Orange to launch the Sharp Aquos SH80F 3D Android smartphone next month
Phones made and released in Japan usually stay there, and are almost never introduced in other countries. That’s why I was surprised to find out that Orange will officially release the Sharp “AQUOS PHONE SH80F” in France sometime in October. Already available in Japan via NTT docomo as the AQUOS PHONE SH-12C (pictured below), the [...]
Yahoo-branded Android Gingerbread phone announced in Japan
Google and Yahoo are far from being best friends, and yet here we have an Android smartphone that’s Yahoo-branded. The handset has been announced in Japan by SoftBank Mobile, and should become available there starting next month. Simply called “Yahoo! Phone”, the device is a remake of the SoftBank 009SH (manufactured by Sharp). It runs [...]
Sharp Galapagos 7-inch Android Tablet passes FCC
Sharp is looking to enter the mobile market with its own attempt at an Android Tablet. Unfortunately, we don’t have many details on the device besides a few different size dimensions and the name “Galapagos.” We’ve heard rumors in the past of a 5-inch and 10-inch version of the Galapagos, and we saw a 10.8-inch [...]
Another Sharp Android phone (SH8188U) coming to North America, Europe and Asia?
Here’s another Sharp Android smartphone that may be released in North America sometime soon – just like that QWERTY handset that we told you about a few weeks ago. This time, we’re dealing with a keyboardless device that’s called Sharp SH8188U. According to the Bluetooth SIG, this smartphone should be introduced not only in North [...]
New Android-based Sharp phone leaked, coming to AT&T?
We’ve just received a photo of an unannounced and previously unseen Sharp Android smartphone, and we have reasons to believe this may be a new Sidekick handset for T-Mobile USA. Yes, an Android-based Sidekick, just like the Sidekick 4G (which, of course, isn’t made by Sharp, but by Samsung). According to our source, the new [...]
Disney Android phone announced in Japan
Disney Mobile (which operates as an MVNO in Japan) announced the upcoming launch of its first smartphone. Available to Japanese customers starting next month, the smartphone is based on Android 2.2 Froyo and seems to be a Disney-branded version of the Sharp 003SH. The Disney Android phone features a 3.8 inch WVGA 3D touchscreen display, [...]
Sharp Alice SH0037D and Tango SH6017D launched in India with Opera Mini pre-installed
Sharp has recently released two new phones in India: the Sharp Alice SH0037D and the Sharp Tango SH6017D. Both handsets come with Opera Mini pre-installed, so users will have a quick way of accessing the web while on the go. Apart from featuring Opera Mini, the Sharp Alice has a 2.8 inch WQVGA (400 x [...]
Sharp is promising 3D smartphone by the end of the year
Sharp is reportedly planning to make a big splash in the global smartphone space later this year. Sharp is already one of the biggest phone manufacturers for the advanced Japanese market, and has recently tried to make inroads into the rest of the world by being the company that produced Microsoft’s failed Kin line of [...]
AT&T launches Sidekick-lookalike Sharp FX
Sharp was the company that manufactured T-Mobile’s Sidekick line of phones. They were also the ones making Microsoft’s Kin One and Kin Two. Neither of those lines has proven to be a real mass-market success in the USA, but Sharp seem set to adopt the “pick yourself up and try again” philosophy. Hence, the Sharp [...]
Microsoft Kin One and Kin Two coming to Verizon on May 6 for under $100 on contract
That rumor about the launch date of Verizon’s Kin One and Kin Two was almost exact: the new Microsoft phones will be available online at Verizon starting May 6. The devices will also be available in the carrier’s stores across the US, but only starting May 13. Microsoft has confirmed these launch dates. Moreover, the [...]
Japanese consortium to launch new mobile app platform for Symbian and Linux smartphones
At least six Japanese companies have teamed up to create a new mobile application platform targeting Symbian and Linux mobile operating systems. The group consists of NTT DoCoMo, Renesas Electronics, Fujitsu, NEC, Panasonic Mobile and Sharp. As to why these six particular companies decided to work with each other, it’s still not clear. But current [...]
