Sharp starts making a 5in HD 1080p display for smartphones

DISPLAY MAKER Sharp has begun production of 5in HD 1080p smartphone displays just in time for the latest round of smartphone design refreshes.

Sharp, which supplies Apple with touchscreens for its Iphone 5, announced that it has started mass production of a 5in 1,080x1,920 resolution smartphone display. The firm said production of the screens got under way at its Mie Plant Number 3 at the end of September with full-scale production underway this month.

Sharp said its 5in HD 1080p panel uses CG silicon, a new pixel design and a new production process to hit the marketeer's favourite HD 1080p resolution. The firm played up the display's pixel density of 443ppi, claiming that it is "among the highest in the world" and offers 1.3 times higher density than its own 4.3in 1,280x720 display.

Display makers such as LG, Sharp and Samsung have been churning out HD 720p displays for some time now with the resolution commonplace since Samsung released the Galaxy Nexus smartphone almost a year ago. Sharp's announcement fires the starter's pistol in the race for future smartphones that will sport HD 1080p displays.

With Sharp already supplying Apple's Iphone 5 with displays, it is looking even more likely that next year's Iphone refresh will feature an HD 1080p display. However Sharp didn't reveal the thickness of its 5in HD 1080p display, meaning that Apple and other smartphone makers might have to wait a bit longer for the company to achieve the thin screens demanded by top-tier handset makers. µ