Earlier today, Bloomberg published a report that covers expert analysis of the Nintendo Switch successor's alleged display credentials. The media outlet cites claims made by Hiroshi Hayase—Research Manager (of Small Medium Displays) at Omdia. The analyst proposes that Nintendo's hardware design team has selected an eight inch LCD screen for their "Switch 2" games console, he also believes that the launch model is due at some point this year. Hayase-san has gleaned information from supply chain insiders—the Switch successor could double shipments of entertainment-oriented "small displays." Sharp Corporation is believed to be Nintendo's main supplier, according to interpretations of deliberately vague company statements.

Nintendo's 2017 launch model sported a 6.2-inch LCD display, a more portable Lite version arrived in 2019 with a 5.5-inch display, and a larger 7-inch OLED iteration was released back in 2021. Gaming communities have long speculated about an abandoned "Switch Pro" model—many believe that the project was dropped due to ongoing supply chain problems during lockdown periods. The Switch OLED (plus its modernized dock station) is believed to be an interim gap fill. Nintendo has revealed little about their next generation gaming console, but development partners have been making some noise lately. According to a 4Gamer.net interview article, workers at Japanese studios (CAPCOM, Koei Tecmo, and Spike Chunsoft) have expressed major excitement about the upcoming model's prospects. GDC's 2024 State of the Game Industry report revealed that 240 respondents have admitted that they are actively working on Switch 2 games software.

Sharp Corporation's Chief Executive Officer, Robert Wu, has revealed that the Japanese company's display division is involved in the research and development of an LCD screen intended for use in an "upcoming" gaming console. This small detail was announced during an earnings briefing/call with analysts (on May 11), and Wu was careful to not name the key client: "I can't comment on any details regarding specific customers. But as to a new gaming console, we've been involved in its R&D stage." Bloomberg reports that information about a gaming device was removed from presentation material, soon after the conclusion of the conference call. Sharp expects to launch pilot LCD-panel production lines by the end of this fiscal year.

Given the secrecy surrounding this business partnership and projected time frame for the new line of gaming oriented LCD screens, games industry analysts point to Nintendo being the "unnamed" client. Sharp is the current supplier of 6.2-inch LCD panels that are featured on the standard Nintendo Switch (2017) handheld console. Samsung provides a 7-inch screen that is fitted to the premium Switch OLED (2021), and InnoLux makes a 5.5-inch LCD display - sported by the entry-level Switch Lite (2019). A next-gen Switch console successor is rumored to be deep into development but is not expected to arrive this year - Nintendo's CEO, Shuntaro Furukawa, informed investors (last week) that new hardware is due at some point after April 2024.

The massive rise in market demand for notebook computers in response to distance learning needs and WFH applications from 2020 to 2021 has generated not only a double-digit growth in notebook panel shipment, but also a price hike of more than 40% for notebook panels, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. As various suppliers subsequently scramble to manufacture OLED, LTPS, and oxide panels, TrendForce forecasts these high-end notebook panels to reach a 17.8% market share in 2021 and 21.4% in 2022.

Panels based on OLED technology are primarily supplied by SDC, whose OLED notebook panel shipment for 2020 reached 800,000 pcs. SDC is expected to ship more than four million pcs of OLED notebook panels in 2021, with room for further growth in 2022. In addition to SDC, EDO is also expected to begin mass producing OLED notebook panels in 2H21-1H22. As such, TrendForce expects OLED panels to reach a 1.3% penetration rate in the overall notebook panel market this year. Although BOE and CSOT are currently fully engaged in Hybrid OLED development, Hybrid OLED panels will not enter mass production until 2023 due to technological and cost-related bottlenecks that are yet to be resolved.

Nintendo's Game Boy handheld console was launched in 1989, making it 32 years old. Being widely regarded as the icon of handheld gaming, it was sold in millions and has been copied countless times. However, with some spare time and a crazy mind, the console has been modified to mine Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Yes, you are reading that right. An 8-bit console is mining the biggest and the most valuable cryptocurrency. An electronics enthusiast named "stacksmashing" has set himself a difficult task - to prove that the console can mine some Bitcoin, at any possible rate. And he has managed to prove it is possible, although with some modifications.

Given that the console lacks any connectivity options to the outside world due to its age, the modder had to use SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) to connect the Game Boy with the Raspberry Pi, which had the task of connecting the Game Boy to the internet to mine some Bitcoin. Using the custom 8-bit Sharp LR35902 processor running at 4.19 MHz, the console is naturally not very powerful. Thus, it can not do any meaningful mining and to compare it to modern mining ASICs is just silly. However, it is interesting to see proof of concept and get to see some engineering fun. For more information, please check out the YouTube video here.

Toshiba, a Japanese technology company, has announced last week that is exiting the laptop business in full. In 2018, Toshiba has sold 80.1% of its shares in Dynabook Inc. to Sharp Corp., Japanese company as well, just focused on electronics manufacturing. In the press release issued on August 4th, last week, Toshiba has transferred the remaining 19.9% of shares in Dynabook to Sharp and thereby has officially left the laptop business. "As a result of this transfer, Dynabook has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sharp.", says the Toshiba press release. This is one end of an era, as Toshiba has been manufacturing laptops from 1985, until this day in a way. This is one last goodbye to Toshiba, your laptop legacy will be remembered. If you were/are an owner of a Toshiba laptop, tell us about your experiences in the comments down below.

It was only recently that we reported on Samsung's decision to stop manufacturing all the LCD panels and focus on the production of AMOLED and QLED displays. However, it seems like Samsung will not be abandoning the LCD technology completely. According to a report from DigiTimes, we have information that Samsung will continue to offer LCD-based screens, TN-film, various kinds of VA, IPS, etc., by buying the LCD screen from a Japanese multinational company called Sharp. Sharp will be Samsung's only source of these LCD screens, so Samsung will still be able to offer products based on them. It is reported that types of panels in question are meant for the production of television devices, meaning that they are probably bigger-sized panels.

At this year's CES show, Sharp, a company behind Dynabook, unveiled what they call the world's lightest 13-inch notebook weighing in at just 1.9 lbs or 0.86 kilograms for all the metric system folks out there. The Portégé X30L-G as it is called is a 13-inch laptop of many qualities. For starters, it comes equipped with a 13.3-inch, 1080p IGZO display with a peak brightness of 470 nits. At its core, the Portégé X30L-G uses Intel's 10th generation of Core processors, presumably the Comet Lake variants. Onboard is also Intel's WiFi 6 standard for faster internet speeds, while the I/O is petty decent as well with two USB-A, one USB-C, one HDMI and one Ethernet port.

The laptop's chassis is made out of magnesium alloy and it features dust and drops resistance per military testing methodologies, making it a durable design that can take on everyday work. Additionally, there is a battery of unknown capacity that is advertised to last up to 14.5 hours, however, that is based on Dynabook's testing and we will have to wait for 3rd party reviews to confirm. The X30L-G is going to arrive sometime in February for the price of $1600.

Even as 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) is beginning to enter the consumer mainstream, with 28-inch displays being priced around $600, and Apple toying with 5K (5120 x 2880), with its next-generation iMac Retina desktops, Japanese display maker Sharp threw a spanner in the works, by unveiling a working prototype of its 8K (7680 x 4320 pixels) display, at the CETAC trade-show, held in Japan.

Two of the industry's biggest graphics processor makers, NVIDIA and AMD, reacted similarly to the development, calling 8K "a great challenge." Currently, neither company has a GPU that can handle the resolution. 8K is four times as many pixels as 4K. Driving an Ultra HD display over DVI needs two TMDS links, and DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0 have just enough bandwidth to drive Ultra HD at 60 Hz. To drive 8K, both NVIDIA and AMD believe you would need more than one current-generation GPU, the display should connect to both cards over independent connectors, and somehow treat the single display as four Ultra HD displays. We imagine Sharp demoed its display at a very low refresh rate, to compensate for the bandwidth limitation. After 10 years of Full-HD tyranny, display resolutions are finally beginning to see their normal rate of development. It's time now for GPU developers and display interconnects to keep up.

What do you call a person who sets up three 32-inch 4K (that's 3840 x 2160 pixels each) side-by-side, pairs three of ASUS's HD 7970 GPUs together to play games using AMD's EyeInfinity technology, all of which costs a whopping $17,000? Insane is one word, rich another or a crazy gamer? Perhaps a mix of all the three.

The setup consists of three Sharp PN-K321 4K monitors connected to three AMD HD 7970 GPUs which are together capable of pushing a mind-blowing 1.5 billion pixels on the combined 12K screen resolution, together with a Power Supply Unit that conks off in a few minutes, perhaps just not able to bear the pure awesomeness of the setup. Oh, to get the setup working, AMD put together some custom drivers to make sure that EyeInfinity works well. Before using the custom drivers, the whole rig was able to pull together a measly 8 frames per second, to be more accurate, a slideshow.

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, today announced the 20-inch-class (19.5" diagonal) full HD multi-touch monitor, LL-S201A, showcased at InfoComm 2013, has begun shipping. The LL-S201A, part of the Professional Touch Display product family, packs the power of the award-winning Sharp AQUOS BOARD Interactive Display System into a sleek, lightweight design. Ideal for use in business, medical and education environments as a complement to the AQUOS BOARD display, the LL-S201A is an indispensable part of everyday communication, no matter who is using it.

The 20-inch-class touchscreen LCD panel delivers 1,920 x 1,080-pixel full-High Definition resolution with performance-enhancing UV2A technology to help prevent light leakage for truly bright whites and extremely deep blacks. The 10-point multi-touch screen and Palm Cancellation Function prioritizes the touch of the pen over the touch of your hand so you can write smoothly with the pen, while your hand rests on the screen. When connected to a device running Windows 8, the monitor serves as an intuitive interface. The display also offers a variety of usage styles to match the way you work.

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, will introduce a new 32-inch-class (31.5" diagonal) LCD LED monitor, the PN-K322B. The thinnest in its class, this professional-use monitor features a Sharp developed high-sensitivity, high-precision touchscreen and delivers 4K Ultra HD resolution (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) - four times the pixel resolution of Full HD.

As previewed at InfoComm and CE Week earlier this summer, the PN-K322B is Sharp's latest 4K Ultra HD monitor. Its high-precision touchscreen allows accurate onscreen handwriting of fine text and lines, with writing performed via a dedicated touch pen with a pen-tip width of just 2 mm. The display also supports up to 10-point multi-touch operation.

Sharp unveiled the much awaited proof of pudding for the IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) LCD panel technology. IGZO acts as a superior substrate material to amorphous silicon, thanks to higher electron mobility, and lets you achieve either higher pixel density, or faster response times. Sharp chose the former, and launched the PN-K321. This 32-inch professional desktop/workstation monitor packs a native resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. To draw those many pixels from its source, it relies on DisplayPort, although HDMI is also available. It is priced at the equivalent of US $5,500, and could be unveiled stateside at CES 2013 (January).

One of the biggest suppliers of LCD panels to notebook and PC monitor manufacturers, AUOptronics, has been convicted by a US court on Tuesday, of price-fixing, a serious anti-competitive practice that cripples innovation and is bad for consumers and progress of the industry. The company faces fines as high as US $1 billion, which could amount to a big blow to the company that already finds itself facing losses.

AUOptronics' conviction follows the December 2011 mega-settlement of LCD makers including Samsung, Sharp, Hitachi, HannStar, and Chimei Innolux. At the time, AUOptronics and LG Electronics were the only fence-sitters. LG Electronics agreed to pay a US $400 million fine, in 2008. AUOptronics' current position is that it finds the evidence presented against it, which led to the conviction as being "distorted and incomplete," and that it will appeal against the verdict. The quantum of fine levied against AUOptronics will surface in the months ahead.

Five major LCD panel makers, including Samsung, Sharp, Hitachi, HannStar, and Chimei Innolux; agreed to pay over US $553 million in settlement to regulators for a price-fixing case. The case by regulators alleged that these companies colluded to fix prices of LCD panels 1999 and 2006, affecting billions of dollars of commerce. The scam unearthed in 2006, by regulators of Japan, Korea, United States, and the European Union. Many companies and executives have since pleaded guilty to criminal antitrust violations and paid more than US $890 million in fines so far.

The latest payout of $553 million is aimed to resolve claims by "indirect" purchasers that bought televisions and computers with thin film transistor LCDs, as well as claims by eight USA states: Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, West Virginia and Wisconsin. It also includes payments of $14.7 million by the companies to settle civil fine and penalty law claims by the states, the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. He stated "This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics."

Sharp Corporation will introduce the VR-100BR1 triple-layer Blu-ray Disc media (writeonce) that conforms to the BDXL format specification, the new multi-layer recordable Blu-ray Disc format, a world first. These new Blu-ray Discs will be available in Japan beginning July 30, 2010.

This disc media product conforms to the new BDXL format specification that extends the storage capacity of Blu-ray Discs to 100GB, twice the 50GB storage capacity of existing dual-layer discs. This new format enables recording approximately 12 hours of terrestrial digital TV broadcasts or approximately 8.6 hours of BS digital TV broadcasts. It expands the range of applications for Blu-ray Discs to include recording and saving long-duration HDTV programs or multiple episodes of serial dramas onto a single disc with the same high-definition image quality as the original.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced the finalization and release of the "Blu-ray 3D" specification. The specification, which represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers' living rooms on Blu-ray Disc, the most capable high definition home entertainment platform.

"Throughout this year, movie goers have shown an overwhelming preference for 3D when presented with the option to see a theatrical release in either 3D or 2D," said Victor Matsuda, chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee. "We believe this demand for 3D content will carry over into the home now that we have, in Blu-ray Disc, a medium that can deliver a quality Full HD 3D experience to the living room."

The "Blu-ray 3D" specification fully leverages the technical advantages of the Blu-ray Disc format to deliver unmatched picture quality as well as uniformity and compatibility across the full range of Blu-ray 3D products, both hardware and software. Notably, the specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the image to the viewer's eyes.

Sharp has developed new 250 mW blue-violet laser diodes which promise to bring a substantial speed boost to Blu-ray writers - up from 72Mb/s today to a maximum of 216Mb/s, equal to 6x recording speed. The new laser will be produced in two models - one 3.3mm package for laptop Blu-ray writers and a 5.6mm version for desktop drives. Samples of the new diodes are available at this time, but aren't exactly cheap: Sharp charges 50,000 Yen or about $462 per unit. The company will start mass production of both products from April 2008.

Sharp Corporation and Toshiba Corporation announced today that the two companies have agreed to collaborate closely in LCDs, a move that is expected to enhance the companies' corporate value, profitability and global competitiveness. The alliance will allow each company to make full and effective use of its respective strengths and resources, particularly Sharp's capabilities in LCDs and Toshiba's expertise in advanced semiconductors.

Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp Electronics said on Tuesday it has started the commercial production of blue laser diodes, used to read and write data on high-definition optical discs. The diodes can be used in DVD players based on the Blu-ray format, championed by Sony, as well as competing HD DVD technology, promoted by Toshiba. Sharp, which is entering the market dominated by Sony and unlisted Nichia, plans to bring the monthly capacity to 500,000 units by the end of 2007, spending several billion yen.