Sharp

While we're looking to either Sony or OnePlus to bring the next smartphone powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, we might have overlooked one potential candidate. Granted, Sharp isn't exactly a common name in the smartphone market outside of Japan. So when it comes out with something like the AQUOS R, it's hard not to take notice. While not as glamorous as an LG G6 or Samsung Galaxy S8, the Sharp AQUOS R still packs top-tier hardware and throws in its own AI-assistant and a rather strange charging dock to go along with it.

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This week the Nokia P1 has been teased right on the heels of the announcement of the Nokia 6. The latter device is the real deal - the former isn't yet confirmed as a real device. Sources suggest that the Nokia P1 will utilize company connections to base its design on the Sharp Aquos Xx3. As such, the images you see in this article are literally of the Sharp Aquos Xx3, as it was when it was introduced last year.

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An iPhone with a curved OLED display could arrive as early as next year, according to new reports. Apple is apparently asking its display suppliers - which include companies like LG Display, Sharp, and Japan Display - to ramp up production of OLED panels, according to sources close to the matter. We've heard that Apple wants to deliver a knock-out for iPhone's 10th anniversary, and shipping a model with a curved OLED could be part of that strategy.

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A new Star Wars movie is coming out soon, so that means lots of tie-in merchandise. And few countries love big-name brands and media properties more than Japan. Put the two together and it means Japan is getting exclusive Star Wars-themed smartphones in celebration of the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

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Apple's iPhone 8 details appear (well before release date) at a talk with Sharp CEO Jeng-wu Tai. This event occurred over the weekend at at Tatung University and, at first, seemed innocuous enough. Speaking about displays isn't off-topic for Sharp's CEO, but revealing Apple's future is. A switch by Apple from LCD to OLED would be a big move, especially since it'd be the first major update to iPhone displays in years.

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If there were still any doubt that Apple will be ditching LCD for OLED for its future iPhones, then Tai Jeng-wu has just dispelled them. The man, after all, is the president of Sharp and an executive at Foxconn, who now owns Sharp, both companies deeply involved in the production of the iPhone. Apple’s transition in display technologies is just one of the expected strategies that will spark more interest, and therefore more sales, in the iPhone, after Apple reported its first ever sales slump since 2001.

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Back in 2014, Google launched the Android One program as a sort of mix between Nexus and Google Play Edition devices meant for emerging markets. In a nutshell, that meant OEMs have more freedom to design smartphones to their liking while still getting the software and update benefits of a Nexus. While originally intended for emerging markets, like India for example, it seems that it has now outgrown that limitation. Japan, which is hardly an emerging market, has just gotten its first, and so far only, Android One device, the Sharp 507SH.

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Sharp one-upped just about every other smartphone two years ago when it debuted the Aquos Crystal, a device with almost nonexistent bezels on three sides. Now the Japanese phone maker is back with a smaller version: the Aquos Mini SH-M03. With dimensions measuring 126 x 66 x 9mm, it manages to fit a 4.7-inch display, the same size as the iPhone 6s' screen.

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It’s a robot and a phone, and it’s called RoBoHon. No, it’s not a mobile phone in the shape of a robot — it’s an actual walking robotic that happens to be small enough to carry around with you while out and about, never mind how eccentric you’ll look holding a humanoid robot against your head. RoBoHoN is particularly focused on hands-free control, featuring a projector, speaker, and camera, among other things.

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It is probably part of a robotics fan's dream come true. Or nightmare once they see the price tag. If you thought Sharp was joking last year when it revealed the talking, walking, and even dancing RoboHon robot phone, then this latest announcement will probably prove how dead serious it is. Serious enough to slap on the equivalent of $1,800 on the non-smartphone communications and telephony device rolled into one. Yes, that will be how much it costs when RoboHon launches in Japan on May 26th.

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In late February the news broke that troubled Japanese tech giant Sharp had agreed to an acquisition deal with Taiwan's Foxconn. Both sides were happy with the arrangement, but just before ink was put to paper it was revealed that Sharp had financial liabilities amounting to a staggering $3.1 billion. Foxconn execs were stunned, to say the least, and the deal was immediately placed on hold to renegotiate a reduced bailout. It is now believed that the two companies are ready to move forward, with March 31st said to be the day the deal will be closed.

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The unfolding events feel as if they have gone from mere business case to TV drama, with a potential spouse mulling over leaving the other due to past dark secrets. The deal between Japan's Sharp and Taiwan's Foxconn almost seemed ready to be inked but, at the last minute, Sharp may have revealed a bombshell that had Foxconn executives going berserk. That bombshell was just how much potential financial liabilities that Sharp will be bringing along when it moves in with Foxconn, amounting to no less than $3.1 billion.

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