Sharp unveils low-consumption, solar powered LCD TV

Sharp is showcasing its upcoming range of environmentally conscious consumer electronics at the Hokkaido Tokayo G8 Summit, including an LCD TV which uses a quarter of the power of a conventional CRT TV.

The 26V-inch low power consumption LCD TV, which will be displayed at the Summit's International Media Centre [IMC], also consumes only about a third of the power of a similarly-sized conventional LCD television.

According to Sharp the television uses so little power it can even be run in areas not connected to an electricity grid, using a solar cell about the size of the television itself.

The company has been investigating the possibilities of selling the television together with a solar module, which will help the environment, allow consumers to save money on electricity, and allow Sharp to target the device to some of the approximately 1.6 billion people who live in off-grid areas world-wide.

Also on display from Sharp will be the company's new 65V-inch Next Generation LCD TV prototype.

The 'V-inch' is a measurement which manufacturers claim gives a more accurate measurement of the true size of a flat TV screen.