SHARP Launches the Aquos Pad SHT 21 sporting IGZO Technology - Paranormal Activity 4 Portable AQUOS TV, Cash Registers and Apple iPad 4

SHARP Corporation of Japan, the company on whose Account I happen to be working at ACCENT Marketing located in the Baxter Building in News Kingston, shocked The Living Daylights (1987) out of me on Saturday October 20^th 2012AD.

This as they have announced on Thursday October 18^th 2012AD that they are launching yet another Tablet, the 7” Aquos Pad Tablet as reported on no less an authority than the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in the article “HTC and Sharp unveil devices with next-generation screens”, published 18 October 2012 Last updated at 16:23 GMT, BBC News.

TechRadar, a blog i’ve been auditing for some time, finally brings up the rear with support details on the Tablet that SHARP Corporation of Japan plans to launch in December 2012 in the article entitled “Sharp announces Aquos Pad, the first IGZO display tablet”, published October 17th 2012 By Scott Nichols, TechRadar. This announcement is special as it represents SHARP Corporation of Japan continued perseverance in the Tablet field, with which it has only had minimal success with the 7” version of an Earlier Tablet, The Galapagos.

This announcement is also special as it specifically mentions a new Technology behind the Tablet, that being IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) Display, the main reason this piece of news caught my All Seeing Eyes as explained in the article entitled “Sharp announces Aquos Pad, the first IGZO display tablet”, published October 17th 2012 By Scott Nichols, TechRadar.

Straight off the bat, the specs of the Aquos Pad SHT 21, its official name (Note to SHARP: Please change that to AQUOS IGZO Tab, as the name sounds like sh*&!) are as follows:

1.      7-inch IGZO screen

2.      Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich

3.      Resolution of 1280 x 800

4.      1.5GHz dual-core MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 processor

5.      1GB of RAM

6.      16GB hard drive

7.      NFC (Near Field Communication)

8.      MicroSDXC port

9.      4G LTE support

10.  3,460mAh battery

I say “surprised”, as I had heard whispering on the SHARP Floor that a New AQUOS product was coming, but I had no idea it would be a Tablet. SHARP Corporation of Japan had tried their hand at a Tablet back in December 2010AD, namely the Galapagos Tablet which had originally made its debut at the CEATEC 2010 Consumers Electronic Show in Chiba, Japan back in October 20120AD as stated in the article “Sharp's Galapagos, other tablets tease at Ceatec”, published October 5, 2010 2:30 AM PDT by Erica Ogg, CNET News.

The Galapagos Tablet, which looks an awful lot like the Apple iPad, originally came in 2 flavours; a 10.8” size and a 5.5” size, differing only by virtue of having physical buttons, a Trackball for the 5.5” and a home and Back button for the 10.8”. Clearly, SHARP Corporation of Japan had no clear cut Tablet Strategy, seeing the Tablet Craze as a fad that would eventually fade out.

This self-evident from the fact that the only compelling content on the Japanese versions of the Tablets was a dedicated Galapagos online store for books and access to a video Rental Service Tsutaya! Effectively it wasn’t really a Tablet but an e-Reader, most likely taking its design queues from the Amazon Kindle than the Apple iPad!

The American versions that was given the stamp of approval by the FCC (Federal Communication Commission), which vets all UE (User Equiptment) for Telecom Networks as stated in the article “Sharp Galapagos tablet, AT&T Galaxy Tab clear FCC”, published November 12, 2010 11:54 AM PST by Kent German, CNET News, was just as lackluster in its offerings, with no significant improvements to the design or content offering.

It thus entered CES (Computer Electronics Show) 2011 with little fanfare, as it failed to distinguish itself from the crowd as a serious Tablet contender as noted in “CES: Sharp Galapagos tablet hits FCC”, published January 3, 2011 10:23 PM PST by Donald Bell, CNET News. SHARP Corporation of Japan back then only saw the Tablet as a big screen and not as a potential Laptop, Desktop PC, Printer, Mouse and Game Console Killer as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “How the Apple iPad killed Ultrabooks, Printing and the Mouse as the World Rediscovers Tablets”.

This Android powered Galapagos Tablet poor design and high price, not to mention a lack of any compelling content whatsoever killed off this product. In the space of less than a year and by September 30^th 2012AD it became extinct like its Namesake on Galapagos Island, only to be sold on the Japanese mainland as noted in the articles “Sharp Galapagos tablets join HP TouchPad in the canceled bin”, published September 15 2012 By James Kendrick, ZDNet and “Sharp Axes Galapagos Tablet Models, Focuses on Japan”, published September 15th, 2011 2:31 PM EDT, by Jeff Gamet, The Mac Observer.

Ironically, as the Galapagos Tablet went slowly extinct, like the Giant Tortoises on the islands of Galapagos it was named after, it made me wonder if its name killed it off as well? Only a 7” version, developed later on, continued on a slow but painful survival being retailed only in Japan. For the Record, I’ve never received any calls for Repair or Servicing for the Galapagos Tablet since I’ve been on the SHARP Account here at the Baxter Building where the Fantastic Four live, play and work in ACCENT Marketing.

However, a friend on the SHARP Account, obviously in her disdain for Cash Registers, hinted that Cash Registers would eventually go Touch Screen. Perhaps a revival of the 10” Galapagos Tablet may be in order, but this time as a display screen for a new Touch Screen Cash Register from SHARP Corporation of Japan.

With a Capacitive Touch based on the Galapagos Tablet using the latest version of Google Android but with a screen layout similar to the XEA207, XEA407 or XEA507. Preferably with a Wi-Fi internet and an Ethernet Port to support Networking a bunch of them together for larger store settings and automated Retrieval of Store Data, as evidenced in other Cash Register competitors.

But my personal favourite would be for the customers who like First World Service; a built-in Remote Login Programming option to allow customers who registered for this service to have experienced SHARP TES (Technical Engagement Specialists) remotely login to the Cash Register and program it for the Customer before their very eyes.

A Practical Strategy for the Galapagos Tablet and the revival of SHARP Corporation of Japan Cash Register Business, revived from near extinction like the Galapagos Turtles on Easter Island using the new IGZO Technology. SHARP Corporation of Japan could even call the next Tablet the Komodo, after the poisonous Dragon that live on Easter Island that kills its prey with one bite! SHARP Corporation of Japan could then turn around and upgrade all OOW (Out of Warranty) Cash Register Customers for Free, once they sign up to a paid service contracts for their Cash Registers.

But I’m just dreaming folks! Fast forward to 2012AD…….

It’s well known that the AQUOS TV CGS (Cesium Gallium Silicon) Technology is the basis of the current Apple iPhone 5 Screens which SHARP Corporation of Japan is making on contract for Apple as reported in “Apple finally receiving iPhone 5 screens from Sharp, says report”, published September 13, 2012 9:32 AM PDT by Lance Whitney, CNET News and “As iPhone 5 looms, Sharp's screen production falters”, published August 31, 2012 4:23 AM PDT by Charlie Osborne, CNET News.

So that’s enough to make us really feel “awesome” as our spritely Accent Neutralization Trainer implies in with extra saccharin sweetness about our work on the SHARP Account; it’s good to know that a little piece of SHARP Corporation of Japan AQUOS TV Research is in every Apple iPhone 5!

Apple may soon be using SHARP Corporation of Japan as their 5” 1,080 x 1,920-pixel Display that coasts in at a whopping 443ppi (pixels per inch) with true 1080p display making all current smartphones appear obsolete as noted in my blog article entitled “SHARP and JDI making 5-inch 1080p Smartphone Screens -  Here Comes the Boom  as 1080p Screens, Quad-Core the next Big Thing for Apple iPhone”.

And albeit 2013AD has not arrived as yet, Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is already testing the Christmas 2012AD waters with a smartphone that uses the new 5” screen in their latest smartphone offering, the HTC's J Butterfly phone, set to debut in December 2012AD. Take a gander at the picture below and drool all over the screen, HTC Fanboys!

This particular association of Apple, my fave company, with SHARP Corporation of Japan gives me hope that this new CGS Screen Technology, will eventually show up in the New Apple iPhone 6 next in 2013AD. SHARP Corporation of Japan it seems wants to get into the Tablet game and is thus launching their own Tablet.  Which, based on the name alone, may be a companion Tablet to their SHARP AQUOS Line of Television Sets, possibly even a Remote control or even a Tablet to allow the TV to be watched in another room streamed via Wi-Fi.

This time, the Tablet is packing a yet another patented technology that now only guarantees sharper resolution, but should increase battery Life significantly as noted in the article “An iPad Mini With Sharp’s IGZO Display Technology Could Play Video For 24 Hours On A Single”, published October 17 2012 at 8:28 am PDT by John Brownlee, Cult of Mac.

Called IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide), the technology increases battery life as it makes the wires that power the TFT (thin film transistor) LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) thinner than the current LCD Technology, typical of all Tablets including the Apple iPad. All LCD displays, from computers to Television Sets, work the same way: a Network of mesh wires power Pixels made up of LCD Crystals and backlit by LED (Light Emitting Diodes). These LCD’s control the colour that appears on the screen in much the same way a filter determines the light that is projected on a screen.

LED’s are used as a light source with the LCD acting as a colour filter. But the photons of light has some hard work to do; it has to shine through a mesh of densely packed Wires, which means the LED have to be very bright and thus use more power. IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) solves this by using a different material that has a higher translucency to make up the LCD, allowing more light to pass through and thus prolonging the battery life of the Tablet or any Device for that matter that uses the IGZO Technology.

That last bit is the exciting part, as it’s highly possible that Apple may end up using this technology in their next Apple iPad 4 and even the Apple iPad Mini. Most likely the center of focus of Apple’s product launch on Tuesday October 23^rd 2012AD at 10am PT at the California Theatre in San Jose, California as stated in the article iPad Mini, anyone? Apple sets Oct. 23 event, published October 16, 2012 9:04 AM PDT by Josh Lowensohn, CNET News.

Whether Apple iPad Mini will make its debut or not is itself speculation. But one thing is for certain: SHARP’s New IGZO Technology promise of 24 hour battery life makes it as irresistible as a sugar factory to an army of Ants, or in this case the Cupertino Kids. It’s almost certain that Apple will want in on this technology for the Apple iPad 4 in 2013AD to push battery life to a full 24 hours on a single charge. Other products may also get the IGZO Technology, once production issues and pricing are stabilized.

But more interesting, is what this technology may mean for the Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) SHARP Corporation of Japan consumer electronics products outfitted with these low Power Displays, particularly for the future Development of the almost-forgotten Cash Registers.