Sharp Develops 108V-Inch LCD TV, World’s Largest* Sharp developed a 108V-inch LCD TV that it showed at the 2007 International CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. This 108V-inch LCD TV uses a Black Advanced Super View full-HD panel, measuring 2,386 x 1,344 mm, that is made at Kameyama Plant No. 2 from the first-ever eighth-generation glass substrates. * As of January 8, 2007, for LCD TVs.

Mikio Katayama Becomes President & COO, New Organizational Structure Launched On April 1, Katsuhiko Machida became Chairman & CEO and Mikio Katayama became President & COO.

Sharp Develops New LCD Technologies: From Mobile Products to Large LCD TVs Newly developed Sharp LCDs include the Mobile Advanced Super View LCD, an ideal product for One-Seg-compatible mobile phones with its 2,000:1 contrast (industry’s highest*), one of the industry’s widest viewing angles (176°), and fast response speed (8 ms); and the System LCD with embedded optical sensors, which offers input through touch-screen and scanning. With an eye to creating the TVs of the future, Sharp developed new LCD technologies that combine its wealth of LCD expertise; the result is TVs boasting incredible image quality, ultra-thinness (just 20 mm at the thinnest section), and advanced environmental performance. Sharp has received rave reviews for 52V-inch prototypes using this technology exhibited in Japan and overseas. * As of April 17, 2007, for mobile product LCDs (2-inch class).

Sharp and Pioneer Form Alliance On September 20, 2007, Sharp and Pioneer Corporation agreed to a business and capital alliance. By aggressively pooling both companies’ resources, the agreement will create new business and improve both companies’ corporate value. Cooperation will take the form of effective implementation of both companies’ strengths and specialties, such as imaging and display technology, in which Sharp and Pioneer both excel; Sharp’s digital technology, communication technology, and device technology; and Pioneer’s optical disk technology, acoustic technology, and car electronics technology.

Sharp Breaks Ground on “Manufacturing Complex for the 21st Century” On December 1, 2007, Sharp held a groundbreaking ceremony in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, for what is being called a “Manufacturing Complex for the 21st Century.” Sharp is aiming to make this a major industrial zone: in addition to horizontally deploying its proprietary thin-film technology for both cutting-edge LCD panel and solar cell plants, Sharp is inviting relevant infrastructure and material and equipment manufacturers to construct their plants on the site. The LCD panel plant will be the first facility to use tenth-generation glass substrates (2,850 x 3,050 mm), the world’s largest. The solar cell plant will have an annual production volume of 1,000 MW (one million kW) for thin-film solar cells.

Sharp and Toshiba Form Alliance On December 21, 2007, Sharp and Toshiba Corporation announced an agreement to collaborate closely in their respective strengths of LCD and semiconductors to enhance both companies’ corporate value, profitability, and global competitiveness. With Sharp being a world leader in LCD and Toshiba in semiconductors, this collaboration will allow them to come out ahead in the intensifying global competition and secure themselves an advantageous position in the fields of LCD, semiconductors, and LCD TVs.