Tiny display has 4 times better contrast

By YURI KAGEYAMA

AP Business Writer

updated 1:53 p.m. ET April 18, 2007

TOKYO - With more people watching TV on their cell phones, Sharp Corp. unveiled a tiny liquid crystal display that boasts four times better contrast than the best products commercially available today.

The Japanese electronics maker will begin shipping the 2.2-inch displays this fall, targeting nearly $850 million in sales next year, company spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama said.

Mobile phones that receive terrestrial digital TV broadcasts, which began last April in Japan, are increasingly popular, and such handsets are expected to reach a shipment of 10 million here. Global demand is also expected to grow as such broadcasts have started up in Europe and are rolling out in the United States, Nakayama said.

"The culture for watching TV on cell phones is catching on," she said.

The new display from Osaka-based Sharp — for cell phones, digital cameras and other mobile gadgets — has a contrast of 2,000 to 1, far better than the 500-to-1 ratio today, allowing for more colorful and clearer images, according to Sharp.

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