Sharps New Smartphone Linked TVs
WSJ has post on the continued Sharp Aquos evolution – to be clear, this approach has been going on for years, by all players: http://bit.ly/jI0lS4
Sharp Aims To Spur Fresh Demand With New Smartphone-Linked TVs
Sharp Corp. said Wednesday it will launch in Japan next month a range of Internet-ready television sets that can interact with its smartphones, as the Japanese electronics maker tries to spur new demand and gain a competitive edge in an increasingly tough market.
The new Aquos L Series TVs, to be released in Japan on July 15, will allow viewers to access the Internet via a new online platform called Aquos City–offering news, entertainment and weather forecasts, among other content and services. The TVs, which will come in four sizes, will also link with Sharp’s Aquos cellphones and smartphones. Users will be able to take videos with their mobile handsets and send them to the TV, for example.
Sharp expects the smallest 40-inch model of the new Aquos L Series TVs will sell for about Y220,000, and the largest 60-inch model to sell for around Y450,000. Sharp, which makes both panels and TV sets, is also restructuring its panel production system in Japan. The company has said that one of its Japanese plants that currently only makes panels for TVs will start mass-producing small panels for smartphones and tablets later this year.