Sharp logoSharp has started manufacturing 5 inch displays with 443 pixels per inch. If you don’t feel like doing the math, that means they have 1920 x 1080 pixel displays — or about the same resolution as you’d expect from a decent 40 inch high definition TV.

The difference is that an HDTV is designed to be viewed from a couch, about 6 to 8 feet away. A phone is meant to be held about a foot away from your eyes. So the more pixels per inch you can pack into a smartphone screen, the sharper text and images will look, and the harder it will be to pick out individual pixels.

At this rate, you’ll probably have a hard time picking out pixel-sized Waldo while holding a screen an inch or two from your face.

Sharp says full scale production of its new screens begins this month. There’s no word on what phones they’ll end up in.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about 5 inch, 1080p smartphone screens. Chinese device maker Oppo recently unveiled the Find5 X990, the first smartphone with a 1920 x 1080 pixel display that measures 5 inches diagonally.

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6 replies on “Sharp is producing 5 inch, 1080p displays for smartphones”

  1. I actually think come next year the smaller/budget phones will be the ones with the 4.3 or less screens and the standard being 4.7 and up. The exception being the iPhone.

    I have the AT&T HTC One X and I love it. The screen is large but not too large to where it won’t fit in my pocket.

    I actually prefer it over my Nexus 7, HP Touchpad or 1st Gen iPad.

  2. That’s a big darn phone. I almost think 4.3″ is too big.

    But it’s great for portable media players… I’d love to see Archos update the 48 with one of these screens.

    1. Yeah, Archos is overdue for a decent tablet/media device. Hopefully those screens will make it to the Samsung Galaxy S wifi 5.0 shortly.

    2. Plus one on 4.3″ smartphones being too big. I’m hoping for more smartphones with a 4″ screen max and thin bezels.

    3. I mostly use my phone for gaming and watching videos, so I actually prefer as large a screen as possible. I’ve got the Droid 3 right now and the screen feels cramped.

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