Sharp LCD TVs go thin and light

Sharp said it has developed the world's thinnest and lightest LCD TVs with enhanced picture quality, in a pre-emptive move before the release of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs, known for thin displays and crisp images.

The prototype 52-inch liquid-crystal display TV, which is just over 20mm thick and weighs 25kg, consumes half as much electricity as comparable existing models, the Osaka-based company said on Wednesday.

Sharp's conventional 52-inch LCD TV measures 80mm in thickness and weighs 30kg.

Sharp, the world's number three LCD TV maker behind Samsung Electronics and Sony, declined to comment on the price for the new model but said it aims to start output when its newest LCD factory in Sakai, western Japan, comes online by March 2010.

The new LCD TV has a contrast ratio of 100,000 to 1, compared with 2,000 to 1 for Sharp's existing models, meaning the prototype can produce a much deeper colour black on the screen than conventional TVs.

Its light weight also has advantages, Sharp said.

"A TV set weighing 25kg or lower will make wall-mounted TVs possible at many households without reinforcing the wall," Sharp director Takuji Okawara said.

"In Japan, by promoting wall-mounted TVs, we can address customer concerns about earthquakes knocking over TV sets."

Sony said in April it planned to start selling OLED TVs by the end of the year, making the new technology a promising contender in the flat TV industry.

The Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment conglomerate has already showcased 11-inch and 27-inch OLED TVs, with the former coming with a thickness of 3mm.

Sharp President Mikio Katayama said the supplier of Aquos brand LCD TVs plans to launch a 108-inch model, the world's largest flat TV, late this year or early next year.

Shares of Sharp, which plans to spend $3.32bn (£1.7m) to build the world's biggest LCD plant in Sakai, closed up 2.3 per cent at 2,005 yen (about £9), outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index, which gained 0.76 per cent.

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