SHARP: A legacy of quality and innovation since 1912
In the Higher Education and Museum Zone on our booth at ISE 2025, we showcased two new Sharp installation laser projectors in a museum scenario: the Sharp X171Q 16,500lm 4K+ 1DLP laser projector, and the Sharp A201U 20,000lm LCD laser projector. The Sharp A201U offers the widest LCD projector colour space in the industry and is the only LCD projector on the market to use an RB laser light source.
This is just one recent example of innovation in Sharp’s long history which began a hundred and thirteen years ago. We used our museum scenario at ISE to project a timeline of Sharp product innovation, showcasing major product milestones and our Japanese heritage of quality and innovation.
It’s a fascinating story, and it all began with the Sharp Pencil, an innovation that we are still familiar with today.
A timeline of Sharp product innovation
1912 - Tokubijo Snap Buckle
Sharp's legacy of creating unique products is rooted in founder Tokuji Hayakawa's dream to "make products that other companies want to imitate." It all started with the Tokubijo, a belt buckle that could be adjusted in length without the need for fastening holes. He acquired a patent for his idea and the subsequent success of the Tokubijo Snap Buckle inspired Tokuji to set out building his own business.
1915 - Hayakawa Mechanical Pencil
Tokuji invented a unique propelling device inside a metal shaft encasing a pencil lead. After a large order came in from a trading firm exporting to the West, demand for the Hayakawa Mechanical Pencil also took off in Japan. Tokuji improved the product by developing ultra-thin lead and he named this newer version the Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil. It became known simply as the Sharp Pencil, and the name lives on in our company name today.
LEARN MORE about Sharp’s founder, Tokuji Hayakawa.
1953 - Japan's First TV Set
The age of television in Japan began in 1953 when Sharp became the first Japanese company to mass produce TV sets. Sharp's first TV set, the TV3-14T, was priced at 175,000 yen at a time when the typical salary for high school graduates was 5,400 yen a month. Aiming to place a TV set in every household, Sharp led the industry to reduce costs and make this new appliance affordable for as many people as possible.
1963 - Solar Modules
Sharp began research into solar power in 1959 and started mass production of standardised solar modules in 1963. In these early days of renewable energy, it was Sharp’s engineers who worked at creating a market for solar modules. In May 1963, Sharp Solar Modules were used in their first marine application, attached to a solar-powered lighted buoy in the Tsurumi Shipping Lane in Yokohama Port.
1973 - World's First LCD Calculator
Thanks to the tireless efforts of its engineers, Sharp achieved the first practical application of LCD technology. The EL-805 COS-type pocket calculator introduced in 1973 was the first product on the market to use a Liquid Crystal Display. In December 2005, the EL-805 was one of the calculators recognised with a prestigious IEEE Milestone award, which honours ‘technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity’.
1978 - Picture-in-Picture TV Set
In 1978, Sharp introduced the CT-1804X, the first TV in the industry allowing viewers to watch two programs at once on the same screen. Consumers enjoyed the new viewing experience which allowed them to watch their favourite TV show while keeping track of a baseball game on another channel. Picture-in-Picture (PiP) functionality is an essential feature in today’s personal workspace displays, boosting productivity.
1988 - 14-inch Colour TFT LCD
By continuously building on the R&D efforts that led to the introduction of the LCD pocket calculator in 1973, and by advancing technology developed for a three-inch LCD colour TV, Sharp ultimately succeeded in producing a prototype 14-inch colour TFT LCD, a significant technological milestone. In 1990, the Eduard Rhein Technology Award, referred to in Europe as the Nobel Prize of the AV world, was bestowed on this display.
1989 - 100-inch LCD Video Projector
Video sources beyond conventional TV programming started coming onto the scene and people began to enjoy a variety of content shown on home theatre systems. The Sharp 100-inch LCD video projector was the world's first such product for home use that employed a system of LCD panels. It pioneered a new viewing style that let viewers enjoy a big screen experience matching the size and layout of the room.
1997 - Super Mobile LCD with no Backlight
Traditional transmissive LCDs rely on a backlight for visibility, which makes content hard to read in sunlight. Sharp's Super Mobile LCD, however, did not need a backlight and was perfect for outdoor use. In fact, the brighter the ambient light, the better the visibility. With about one seventh the power consumption, one third of the thickness, and about half the weight of previous displays, it was the ideal LCD for mobile equipment.
2001 - AQUOS LCD Colour TV
On 1 January 2001, Sharp launched the LC-20C1/15C1/13C1 AQUOS LCD colour TV as the “TV for the 21st century”. The first AQUOS boasted the industry's highest brightness of 450 cd/m² and a look created by renowned industrial designer Toshiyuki Kita to add elegance to the home. The AQUOS name concept is derived from the combination of the words “quality” and “aqua” evoking the image of the fluidity of liquid crystal materials.
2005 - 65-inch Digital Full-HD LCD TV
Sharp's 65-inch full-HD LCD TV, the world’s largest when released, caused a sensation. With technologies such as quick response speed for sports and other fast-moving images, this Sharp LCD TV allowed viewers to be entertained in unprecedented visual clarity. Furthermore, Sharp's four-wavelength backlight system, which complements blue, green, and red with 'deep red', enabled more faithful reproduction of the pure red colour.
2008 - 108-inch LCD Monitor
Sharp released the LB-1085 commercial-use 108-inch LCD monitor, the world's largest at the time, in 2008. Each monitor's ASV (Advanced Super View) panel was made from one eighth-generation glass substrate (measuring 2,160 x 2,460 mm) at Sharp's state-of-the-art Kameyama Plant No. 2. The huge screen measuring approximately 3.2m2 meant that information could be conveyed to large numbers of people in large spaces.
2011 - Interactive Whiteboard
Sharp introduced the high-resolution PN-L702B interactive touchscreen, complete with bundled application software, allowing users to write notes onscreen with a stylus or finger, zoom in and out, and print to, or scan from, a connected Sharp multi-function printer. This innovative business communication tool enhanced work efficiency, and its successors continue to be a central feature in collaborative meeting spaces today.
2013 - AQUOS 4K TV UD1 Series
This AQUOS brand 4K-compatible LCD TV employs the 4K Moth Eye panel and the AQUOS 4K-Master Engine Pro, a new image processing circuit giving incredibly detailed images with 8.29 million pixels, four times the resolution of full-HD. Upscaling full-HD images to 4K resolution, viewers enjoy terrestrial digital broadcasts and Blu-ray Disc images in super-detailed, life-like 4K resolution.
2017 - AQUOS 70-inch 8K-compatible TV
With a resolution 16 times that of full-HD, the AQUOS 8K LCD panel reproduces images in ultra-fine detail. Add technologies for wide colour gamut and high brightness developed by Sharp through the evolution of its AQUOS TVs, and viewers can experience images like never before. The Sharp LC-70X500 can upconvert content from digital broadcasts into 8K enabling viewers to watch current TV content in higher quality.
2019 - Windows Collaboration Display
Fully certified for Microsoft Teams, the Sharp Windows Collaboration Display is a 70-inch interactive display with UIHD resolution, enabling more productive collaboration in meetings, boardrooms and training rooms. Thanks to single-cable connectivity via USB-C, meetings are plug-and-play and support ‘Bring your Own Meeting’ scenarios in modern workspaces.
2021 - 120-inch Professional 8K Display
The Sharp 8M-B120C employs imaging technologies developed for the AQUOS 8K TV, allowing full-HD and 4K-resolution images to be upconverted to 8K for reality-like image reproduction depicting depth, richness and texture for unprecedented visual experiences. Designed for the rigors of commercial use, the Sharp 120-inch 8M-B120C 8K Display is among the largest in the industry.
2023 - First Co-development between Sharp and NEC
The multi-functional Sharp MultiSync® ME Series of large format displays is the first fully co-developed product of the joint venture, offering professional performance and value. Enterprise users benefit from ‘Bring Your Own Device’ simplicity, while an integrated System on Chip (SoC) with Android 13 CTS-compliant Operating System brings the most up to date features and security.
LEARN MORE about the Sharp MultiSync® ME Series
2024 - Sharp ePaper Display
A groundbreaking advance in energy-efficient technology, the multi-award-winning Sharp ePaper Display consumes zero watts when displaying content. Presenting static images with a paper-like quality in full colour, enhanced by E-Ink ACeP™ performance, content appears brighter in high ambient light conditions, without reflections. Its wide application potential has yet to be fully realised!
LEARN MORE about the Sharp ePaper Display
READ THE NEWS Sharp/NEC brings energy-efficient ePaper signage to the DOOH space
As our joint venture journey continues we are proud to display our Japanese heritage under the Sharp brand with new product development that holds true to Tokuji Hayakawa's dream to "make products that other companies want to imitate." We will uphold our legacy of quality and innovation with cost-efficient solutions that offer enhanced feature sets, bringing best value and performance to our customers, without compromising quality and sustainability.