CES 2012: Sharp Also Has Big Screens on Show, Even an 80-Inch One

Truly large displays are not very common, but when they do show up, they make a strong impression, as Sharp must be more than happy to see for itself.

Of course, when a company makes an 80-inch display, it goes without saying that people will gawk, or at least stare, especially during a public even like CES.

Sharp used the occasion to announce the AQUOS Board, an 80-inch LCD display for collaborative work.

What this means is that it will best serve conference and planning rooms.

The high-performance display comes with a high-end touch-panel system, meaning that it is more than just a fancy replacement for projectors.

AQUOS Board would have probably impressed even if it had been just something that could take up most of a wall, making projectors obsolete.

Still, Sharp wanted this to be a solution “to facilitate global collaboration,“ so it did not skip on touch input.

“Similar to what our innovative and industry-leading large-screen TVs are doing for the home, Sharp’s large-screen interactive touch-panel display systems are revolutionizing the workplace,” says Doug Albregts, president, SIICA.

“The 80-inch class AQUOS Board provides endless collaboration, information and entertainment options and is a welcome addition to Sharp’s family of solutions designed to improve our workplace lives.”

The native resolution of the screen is 1,920 x 1080 pixels and it should be no problem to keep the screen active 24/7.

The exact brightness was not specified, but Sharp's press release did note the UV2A photo alignment and Full Array LED backlight technologies, which “create an energy-efficient screen that is easy to read in most environments, regardless of ambient light.”

Office lobbies, schools, airports, malls, meeting rooms, hotels and exhibit rooms are just several of the possible applications.

The AQUOS Board will ship in February, for $13,795 (10,784 Euro). 60-inch and 70-inch versions should show up as well, but no prices were given for them.