Look at the big TVs. They’re thin! They’re bright! They’re “smart”. They’re Sharp’s LED TVs, and they’re coming your way this year.
You can get them in 60-inch, 70-inch, 80-inch and 90-inch flavours. There are a lot of somewhat meaningless marketing terms bandied about here, but the bottom line is this: the 6-Series is the entry-level, which means it can’t do 3D, unlike the midrange 7-Series and straight-baller 8-Series. Pricing information is not yet available, but they’re all coming at you within the first half of the year — the 8-Series in March, 7-Series in April, and 6-Series in March. Sharp will also offer non-3D models in the same sizes.
These 1080p, 240Hz LED-backlit sets boast built-in Wi-Fi, as well as Sharp’s SmartCentral connected TV hub. They support HTML5 and Flash, and multi-screen skills will let you watch TV and browse the internet at the same time.
And if you hate your remote but love your smartphone, you’ll be pleased; these sets will be operable via iOS and Android apps. Sound is supposed to get better too, thanks to a built-in subwoofer.
There’s not much new here, strictly speaking, but it’s nice to see a manufacturer update its non-3D flagship models.
Not to be left out of the spec party, Sharp has also just announced that it’s joining the 4K pleasure cruise this year with a 60-inch set set to hit in the second half of the year.
It has a 240Hz panel, active 3D and built-in Wi-Fi. 4K packs four times the pixels of a standard 1080p TV into the same amount of space for a picture that will make you crap yourself. No details are available on price yet, but if other comparable sets are any indication, Sharp’s 4K TV will probably cost enough for you to take out a second mortgage on your house.