Sharp begins making full HD display for smartphones

Sharp has started to make a 5-inch display for smartphones with a 1,080-by-1,920 pixel resolution, the company said on Monday.

The size and the full HD resolution equals 443 ppi, according to the struggling company, which last month said it would mortgage display factories to secure an emergency loan.

The resolution compares to the iPhone 5's 326 ppi and 306 ppi on Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S III.

However, Sharp isn't the only company working on next-generation full HD displays. Earlier this year, LG Display introduced one that has the same size and resolution.

The development of these two products hint that displays will continue to be a focus for device makers as they compete to convince users to buy their latest high-end smartphone.

This year, 1280-by-720 pixel resolution became the standard among high-end Android-based smartphones, and the panels from LG and Sharp allow products to improve even further.

Sharp's new LCD panel uses continuous grain silicon technology, a new pixel design and a production process to achieve the same number of pixels in a smartphone-size screen as there are in a full HD LCD TV, the company said.

Production began at the end of September and full-scale production will begin in October.

The company didn't say when the first smartphones equipped with the display would arrive. But the display will be on show in Sharp's booth at the CEATEC Japan consumer electronics show this week.

The next big opportunities for smartphone announcements are CES in January and Mobile World Congress in February.