June 5, 2005 Sharp has announced it will begin selling a 65’ LCD television in Japan in August, and in so doing will claim the title of the world’s largest “production” LCD television. The announcement is a major coup for Sharp in the public relations cut-and-thrust with its fellow television manufacturers Matsushita (aka Panasonic), Samsung and LG and pushes the Japanese company into screen real estate territory previously inhabited only by plasma screens. Further embarrassment will caused by the pricing and specifications of the Sharp 65 incher which will sell for 1.68 million yen and have a screen resolution of 1920 x 1,080 pixels both considerably better than equivalent plasma screens in the Japanese domestic market.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for the new screen outside Japan – production will be limited to just 300 a month and appears to be more a case of creating public perception than a genuine market launch at this stage.
We can however, expect to see production increased and the unit available outside Japan before the end of the year.
We should also point out that Samsung, showed the world's biggest LCD telly, a whopping 82 incher back in March, though it has yet to see production.