No prototypes or commercial displays here: Two 70-inch Aquos Quattron televisions from Sharp will be available for everyday consumers later this year – if they have the cash.
The days of wall-sized TVs with six-digit price tags dominating CES headlines may be years past, but for those holding out hope of eventually tearing down a wall and dragging one home, Sharp offered a glimmer of hope this year. On Wednesday, the company introduced two 70-inch Aquos LCDs that Sharp hopes will actually go mainstream.
The Aquos Quattron LE732 and LE935 both use Sharp’s tenth-generation LCD panels to hug 70 inches of wall, or 69.5 if you’re eyeballing fractions. That might represent just 15 inches larger than its smaller 55-inch cousins, but total screen area actually leaps an impressive 62 percent. Both TVs use the Quattron technology Sharp introduced last year, which includes an extra fourth pixel for a broader color gamut, and include all the usual Aquos goodies like AquoMotion 240Hz refresh rates, built-in Wi-Fi and apps. Even more impressive, they will offer full-array backlighting, rather than the usual edge-lit.
Have a wall begging for one at home? Sit tight. Sharp hasn’t announced what differentiates the two models, priced them, or given any window for retail release, other than 2011.
