Allegations of LCD price-fixing have been swirling around for years now, and it looks like at least some of the companies involved have dirt on their hands -- LG, Sharp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes have all just pled guilty to price-fixing in a case filed by the US Department of Justice and will pay a combined $585m fine. LG's taking the biggest hit at $400m for conspiring to fix prices from September 2001 to June 2006, while Sharp's on the hook for $120m for jacking prices on panels sold to Dell, Motorola and Apple during the same time frame. Naughty, naughty. It also sounds like this plea agreement is more than just a sterile attempt to cut losses -- Sharp's exec staff is taking a 10 to 30 percent pay cut for three months as punishment to reassure its shareholders. Sounds like a plan -- how about refunding some of that cash to us chumps out here buying your overpriced products?

E-ink displays, whether they be a couple-inches or a couple-feet across, hold a lot of potential, but in the four and a half years we've been covering the tech it hasn't exactly made huge progress. Nothing spurs innovation like a little competition, and Sharp (which has dabbled in the e-ink before) is looking to provide just that with a new display type also able to hold an image sans-power. Few details about its construction are known, except that it's based on LCD tech and can be manufactured on current production lines. In other words: it should be cheap. Current sizes are 1.7-, 2.4-, 6.1-, and 14.1-inches, with the largest two available in either monochrome or 8-color flavors, and the biggest offering a passable resolution of 1030 x 606. There's no indication of when these will be readily available, but they are currently on limited tests as inventory tags in an Osaka grocery store -- where even supermarkets are apparently cooler than ours.

Just when we thought the Touch HD really packed the pixels in, Softbank and Sharp have announced the Aquos Fulltouch 931SH slider, which sports a wild 1024 x 480 3.8-inch touchscreen. That's almost the same res as most netbooks, for comparison -- we're not sure what all that pixel density is good for at this size, but we know we want it. Apart from the screen it's also a pretty solid 3G Softbank featurephone: browser, Bluetooth with A2DP, 5.2 megapixel camera with image stabilizer, accelerometer, 1seg TV tuner, and a media player with microSD expansion. Sure, sure -- but look at that screen, people. That's the stuff dreams are made of. Anyone up for a trip to Japan?

[Thanks, Paul]

Sure, the US has fancy-pants capacitive touchscreen phones out the wazoo, but Japan's superphones still dominate when boiled down to a base, spec-for-spec comparison. Take this new Sharp SH-01A clamshell for example, just revealed by the FCC. It sports a 28mm wide-angle lens with 8 megapixel CCD sensor and, according to rumor, Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound for your microSD stored media. Remember, FCC testing doesn't mean it'll be sold between the left and right coasts -- this flip is likely just being certified for US roaming whenever it's finally announced for NTT DoCoMo in Japan.

Tough luck, Mitsubishi and Funai. Big talk is all fine and dandy, but in our world, it's the results that count. Say hello to Sharp's AQUOS DX family, the world's first range of LCD HDTVs to boast internal Blu-ray players. Slated to hit in 26- (LC-26DX1), 32- (LC-32DX1), 37- (LC-37DX1), 42- (LC-42DX1), 46- (LC-46DX1) and 52-inch (LC-52DX1) sizes, the whole lot will come equipped with an integrated HDTV tuner, bottom-mounted speaker and the ability to handle BD flicks sans an external deck. Of note, only the 37-inch through 52-inch sets offer Full HD 1080p resolutions (1,920 x 1,080), as the other two get stuck with "just" 1,366 x 768. Best of all, those in Japan will barely have to wait a month to see these in shops, as the entire crew is destined to ship in late November (in black and white motifs) for around ¥200,000 ($1,963) to ¥500,000 ($4,909) depending on size. As for the rest of the globe? Put on your patience caps.

[Via Impress]

We've seen some fairly fascinating things at CEATEC this year, but this one could be the biggest game-changer of 'em all, if you'll allow us just one buzzword. The LED-backlit 52-incher you see above comes attached to a not-at-all convenient solar floor panel which presumably provides at least some of the energy required to power this thing. We've no clue how close the design is to being viable for the commercial realm, but we'd say Sharp's definitely headed in the right direction here.

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for. Pricing for Sharp's sexiest, freshest and altogether loveliest HDTVs has arrived. As stated at CEATEC in Japan, the 65-inch LC-65XS1U-S will sell for a whopping ¥1.28 million ($12,225), while the 52-inch LC-52XS1U-S goes for ¥980,000 ($9,243). We'd expect those figures to be a touch lower whenever they come stateside, but rest assured, you'll be breaking into the piggy bank if either of these is to be your next set.

Japan is drenched in arcades with female-only purikura (photo booth for you gaijin) corners in which aflutter girls take pictures, bless them with sparkly decorations, and print them to book cover friendly stickers for all to see, for better or worse, to the horror of their moms, to the delight of their potential boyfriends. Let's say Sharp was to take the purikura phenomenon and fuse it with to the teenage girl's number one obsession: the cell phone (keitai for our Japanese readers). That's exactly what it did with this concept phone and software, complete with a shared art space that can be collectively decorated over wireless networks. Scary? Perhaps. Cool enough to snap some video in awesome disbelief? Most definitely.

While we knew these new Sharp Aquos HDTVs were coming, we had no idea how thin and bright they were in person. Today at CEATEC 2008 Sharp officially announced its LC-65XS1U-S (65-inch) and LC-52XS1U-S (52-inch) AQUOS LCD HDTVs right at CEATEC Japan's opening bell. The displays' 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 1080P panel are nice and all, but we now know they measure in at a super gaunt 2.28-cm (0.9-inch) depth and are outfitted with a 2.1-channel, three-way five-speaker system that Sharp jointly developed with Pioneer. Meanwhile, Sharp boasts some serious energy savings with the new displays, promising a 26% reduction in power consumption. Expect them to hit stores in Japan October 15 in limited numbers for an undisclosed (read: 'spensive) price. Check the emaciated photos in the gallery if you're so inclined.

In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife. Now, in another Japanese world's first (according to Nissan), you can use your mobile phone to open and start your car thanks to a new twist-up of Nissan Motors, NTT DoCoMo, and Sharp. The Sharp prototype cellphone pictured above integrates with Nissan's Intelligent Key system already fitted in various Nissan vehicles. Look for the device to be demonstrated on September 30th with the opening of the CEATEC Japan show. Hiiiiya!

[Thanks, Stop Spamming]

Earlier this year, we saw Sharp dish out more internet-ready LCD HDTVs than we could shake a stick at. Now, the outfit is catering to those clamoring for a GX5 model larger than 52-inches. The expansive 65-inch AQUOS LC-65GX5 steps in with a 1080p panel, 15,000:1 contrast ratio, 450 cd/m2 brightness, ARSS speaker system, 176-degree viewing angles, built-in analog / digital terrestrial tuners and a whole mess of ports including HDMI (x3), optical audio, i.LINK, composite, S-Video and DVI. As expected, the set is DLNA-compliant, and there's a built-in IR port for anyone that still cares. Expect it next month (at least in Japan) for ¥680,000 ($6,450).

[Via Impress]

Not quite sure what happened of late, but extra long lasting batteries are all the rage now. With netbook manufacturers offering up extended cells left and right, it's only fair that Sharp toss out a Willcom D4 with a super longevous battery, too. The Willcom D4 Ver.L (L stands for Long, loony) reportedly arrives with a lovely CE-BL58 extended battery as a standard accessory, and while the resource-demanding Office application isn't included, that helps keep the price at ¥97,700 ($901). A fair trade for the hardcore traveler, we suppose.

[Via Pocketables]

The whole Profile 1.0 thing kind of put a damper on Sharp's latest Blu-ray players, but since they were showcased at the company's CEDIA booth, we figured it prudent to take a few snapshots and pass 'em along. Design wise, the two are exceptionally similar, and we can't say with good faith that the HP50U is really worth the extra coin. Hit the gallery over at Engadget HD and see if you can pick the two apart... and, go!

If you've seen the BD-HP21H Blu-ray player, you've seen the BD-HP21U. Sharp is presumably getting official with the US version of said player here at CEDIA, and while the price tag is comparatively nice, the specifications are so last year. We're talking Profile 1.1, AQUOS LINK, a Quick Start feature to get flicks rolling in under ten seconds and an HDMI 1.3 output. Granted, the glossy black player is mighty thin, but it's still overpriced at $349.99 in our opinion. Full release after the jump.