Sharp Electronics of Canada has ceased all sales of cathode ray televisions (CRTs), and has sold all remaining CRT stock in Canada, according to the company. Instead, Sharp reports, it will focus on marketing its Aquos line of LCD flat-screens--starting with 11 new models ranging from 26-45 inches. This would extend Sharp's LCD suite of models to nearly two dozen.
The firm is currently advertising its Aquos brand during the prime-time baseball playoffs in the United States. ( Dell is also using the playoffs to advertise its HD plasma models; a silhouette of a Dell 42-inch flat-screen with detached speakers is used by Fox Sports in each broadcast to show game highlights as part of a promotional consideration.) The Aquos models absorb 98.5 percent of all ambient light for high brightness and contrast ratios, and have 170-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angles, according to Sharp.
As for longevity, Sharp reports that the Aquos units include low-power consumption and a 60,000 hour backlight service life, which would equal about 20 years of viewing, based on eight hours a day. The 11 new models will all be produced at Sharp's Kameyama factory in Japan.
