Sharp to bring world’s thinnest 12.1 MP CMOS camera

The race to pack as many megapixels into the most pocket-friendly products has been heating up for awhile. While camera manufacturers have their work cut out for them, the smartphone industry has also taken notice. Picture quality has become important to smartphone users, which makes sense given that the iPhone 4 is one of the most popular cameras on Flickr.

And now Sharp has fueled the fire with the announcement that it has developed the world’s thinnest 12.1-megapixel CMOS camera module. The RJ63YC100 measures in at 11x11x5.47 millimeters and packs image-stabilization, a backlit sensor, standard AF, and full 1080p HD video capture.

The best part is we don’t have to wait: this isn’t some product that Sharp is testing and is simply showing off. Mass production of 100,000 units a month will begin in January.

One of the largest hardware pieces in smartphones is the camera module, and if Sharp’s product is as capable as it sounds, we could easily be seeing thinner phones in the near future. According to some new rumors, Apple and Sharp could be striking a business relationship for manufacturing parts. While this speculation was specific to the fabled iTV, it could spill over into iPhone camera parts.

Sharp to launch 3D Android Phones

How do you feel about the idea of a 3D display on a phone? Having to wear a pair of special glasses to be able to enjoy 3D content on a mobile phone doesn't sound very practical, but Sharp has a solution in the way of two glasses-free 3D Android handsets.

Bearing the names Galapagos 003SH and 005SH, both handsets sport 1GHz Snapdragon CPUs, Android 2.2, and a 3.8-inch 3D-capable display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution. The main difference between the two phones is the full QWERTY keyboard on the 005SH, but 003SH makes up for it with a slightly better camera, a 9.6 megapixel model capable of recording 720p video, while 005SH sports a 8-megapixel camera.

With 3D currently being all the rage in the world of video entertainment, the technology will inevitably start spilling into the world of smartphones, which - in today's world of handsets with large touch screens - are just as much mobile entertainment platforms as they are phones. While we don't know much about the 3D capabilities of Sharp’s upcoming devices, a glasses-free 3D display sounds like the right path in the context of smartphones.

And if you're wondering about the lack of 3D content for these devices, Capcom has announced the 3D versions of their games Mega Man, Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights, and Resident Evil: Degeneration for Android, and the first smartphones to feature these games will be the 003SH and 005SH from Sharp.

The 003SH is coming to Japan's Softbank this December, and the 005SH is due February next year.

Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba launch gadget recycling program

Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba - the three of the biggest names in consumer electronics have launched a joint nationwide recycling program in the U.S. that allows consumers to return end-of-life gadgets at no cost for recycling.

Sharp, Toshiba and Panasonic began offering the program last week through their joint company, Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Co. (MRM). They are offering the program at 280 collection points in the US.

According to President of MRM, David Thompson, “the joint venture company has plans to envisage 400 collection points open by the end of 2009, rising to 800 by the end of 2011”.

Consumers can drop-off televisions, VCRs, computers, laptops, MP3 players, cell phones and other consumer electronics products produced by the three partners for no cost and most centers also accept products from other manufacturers, although there may be a cost for some products. That typically depends on if the state has a recycling law and if a manufacturer has contracted with MRM to handle its products.

Sharp launches AQUOS 931SH Touchscreen Phone

Japanese mobile giant Sharp has recently announced their plan of enhancing the AQUOS series of mobile phones by introducing state of the art sleek mobile phone 931SH, likely to be available by December this year. The Japanese cellphone maker Sharp has launched the new 931SH mobile phone through Softbank.

Equipped with extremely high-resolution 5.2 megapixel camera, the new AQUOS 931SH mobile phone handset is a fully touchscreen model. The 931SH touchscreen handset expands the very-popular AQUOS-brand. AQUOS 931SH features a 3.8-inch touch LCD display that is capable of producing a resolution of 1024×480 pixels. Equipped with impeccable LCD display AQUOS 931SH will allow its users to enjoy super-sharp finer quality images and videos.

Users can watch sharp and superior quality videos, web pages, pictures and even live TV. Yes, the phone has the ability to showcase TV from 1-Seg tuner. The other exciting features of the model include accelerometer, motion sensor, GPS connectivity, sporting media player, microSD card slot, and Bluetooth 2.0 etc.

The feature-rich AQUOS 931SH Sharp mobile phone will be available in four different colours: black, pink-tint gold, red, and silver. The pricing of the device has not been disclosed yet.