New from Sharp: The Alexander series

Sharp Phils. Corp. recently unveiled at its “Life Amplified” press launch held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel its newest lineup of pure-flat televisions for the Philippine market, the Alexander series.

Featuring Sharp’s proprietary Big Sound technology that guarantees clear, high-quality sound reproduction courtesy of a four-speaker system with Bass Reflection Speaker Box, the Alexander series is expected to raise the bar in sound fidelity.

Not only that, Sharp also expects to draw an enthusiastic response from people looking for a new TV that not only sounds good, but looks good as well.  

The Alexander series is available in two variants, Great Alexander and Alexander Pro, and comes in 21- and 29-inch models.

Each Alexander TV comes with MTS Stereo; 181-channel cable-compatible tuner; phase-locked loop, quartz-synthesized electronic tuning; three-language on-screen menu display; Channel Flashback; Automatic Channel Tuning; a Power Save function; EZ Set-up; Auto Select; Favorite Channel; Blue Screen; Automatic Fine Tuning (AFT); Closed Caption Decoder; DVD component input; and an AV input/output.

To that, the 29-inch models add Surround Sound, sound/video modes, wide-screen 16:9 Mode, On/Off Timer, Reminder-On-Screen Timer, Beep Reminder, and Child Lock.

Sharp Phils. Corp. president and general manager Kenji Okunaka said the introduction of the Alexander line is expected to further increase the company’s growing share in the CRT TV market.  

Okunaka also spoke about the latest additions to Sharp’s flagship AQUOS LCD TV line, the A53 and A83 models. The new LCDs have refresh rates of 100/120Hz and can process twice the number of frames per second compared to other brands and are slimmer and lighter than previous AQUOS models. 

Also present during the launch was the CEO of the Asian operations of Sharp Corp., Makoto Takahashi, who gave an overview of the company’s current initiatives in cutting-edge LCD technology, the highlights of which include the construction of a $3.3-billion state-of-the-art LCD panel plant in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture and its development of an ultra-thin LCD TV.

The Sakai plant is being developed as a “manufacturing complex for the 21st century” and will be the first in the world to use 10th-generation glass substrates. These substrates are 60 percent bigger than the ones currently being used at Sharp’s eighth-generation Kameyama 2 plant. The new plant will produce bigger LCD TVs in the 42-, 57- and 65-inch range. 

The ultra-thin LCD TVs, on the other hand, are designed to be one-third the thickness of the current thinnest model and much lighter than any other TV in the market.

Spearheading Sharp’s advertising campaign for the new line is the fast-rising all-girl sensation, Kitty Girls, who will appear in the company’s TV, print and billboard campaigns.