Sharp Supports AQUOS(TM) Liquid Crystal Television Holiday Sales With Price Reduction

[Gregg Lengling]

 MAHWAH, N.J., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharp Electronics Corporation, the
marketing and sales subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, today announced
dramatic price reductions combined with rebates on selected models of its
AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television product line, providing discounts to consumers
in time for the holiday shopping season. The new price schedule was
implemented to provide consumers with incentive to purchase the industry's
leading flat panel televisions with unmatched picture quality.  The price
reductions are a direct result of enhanced worldwide consumer sales of the
high-style, high-performance televisions, and improved production efficiencies
at Sharp's LCD manufacturing facilities.
    Sharp also announced the expansion of its "be sharp" brand campaign with a
national television commercial for the holiday season, focused on AQUOS, the
flagship product of the company's "high-tech, high-style" line.  The 30-second
commercial will debut on November 18th and will be broadcast on national cable
entertainment, news and sports programming during primetime and weekends. The
television commercial depicts how the superior performance, stylish design and
versatility of AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television combine to enhance people's
lifestyles in nearly every room in the home. The commercial will air on
leading national cable networks including A&E, Bravo, CNBC, Discovery, ESPN,
Fox, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, and more.
    Sharp offers more variety in its Liquid Crystal Television line than any
manufacturer, including both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio units, featuring
innovative cabinet designs in a variety of sizes and colors, ranging from 10-
to 30-inch screens. Sharp is the worldwide market leader in LCD TV, according
to DisplaySearch, an Austin, Texas-based market research firm.
    "The demand for sophisticated, high-tech flat-panel televisions continues
to increase dramatically, and we anticipate that AQUOS Liquid Crystal
Televisions will be one of our most successful product lines this holiday
season," said Tony Favia, senior marketing manager, Liquid Crystal Television,
Sharp Electronics.  "Sharp is driving the future of home entertainment by
offering the ultimate in style and performance for today's design conscious
consumers.  These exciting price reductions on the AQUOS Liquid Crystal
Television line will make AQUOS available to even more consumers in time for
the holiday shopping season."
    AQUOS-branded Liquid Crystal Television use state-of-the-art ASV (Advanced
Super View) panels featuring Ultra-High Aperture TFT* (UHA TFT), Sharp's
proprietary LCD panel technology delivering extremely wide viewing angles and
an exceptionally high contrast ratio for the ultimate viewing experience.
These new ASV panels afford the AQUOS television outstanding contrast ratio
(500:1), high brightness and wide viewing angles (170 degrees), for an
exceptional viewing experience.
    The AQUOS line offers all the enhanced features consumers expect from a
high quality television including multiple video signal inputs (Component, S-
Video and Composite), built-in cable TV tuner, remote control, V-chip and
higher brightness for more vibrant colors in darker environments.
Additionally, the long lasting, 60,000-hour lamp life and low power
consumption - 60 percent less power than comparably sized CRT (cathode-ray
tube) direct-view televisions - makes the AQUOS line as efficient as it is
attractive.
    The LC-22SV2U and LC-30HV2U are the first wide-screen models from Sharp's
AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television line.  The new 22-inch model has WVGA display
resolution while the 30-inch AQUOS is HDTV-compatible with WXGA display
resolution.  The 30-inch AQUOS also includes a separate Audio Video Computer
(AVC) system with component video and computer (PC) input/outputs.
    The recently announced PC Card Slot models have a built-in PCMCIA card
slot to view digital photographs directly on the television from most
removable storage cards.

    Pricing and availability for Sharp Liquid Crystal Television models are as
follows:

    A Series Liquid Crystal Television
     * The 10-inch model, LC-10A3U-S (silver) is available for an MSRP of
       $799.95.

    B2UA Series AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television
     * The 13-inch models, LC-13B2UA (silver) and LC-13B2UB (black), are
       available for an MSRP of $999.95.
     * The 15-inch models, LC-15B2UA (silver) and LC-15B2UB (black), are
     * The 20-inch models, LC-20B2UA (silver) and LC-20B2UB (black), are
       available for an MSRP of $1,999.95.


    B1U PC Card Slot Series AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television
     * The 15-inch model, LC-15B1U, is available for an MSRP of $1,399.95
     * The 20-inch model, LC-20B1U, is available for an MSRP of $2,199.95

    C3U Series - AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television with Subwoofer
     * The 13-inch model, LC-13C3U-S (silver), will be available in December
       for an MSRP of $999.95.
     * The 15-inch model, LC-15C3U-S (silver), will be available in December
       for an MSRP of $1,199.95.
     * The 20-inch model, LC-20C3U-S (silver), is available for an MSRP of
       $1,999.95.

    E1U Series AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television
     * The 13-inch models, LC-13E1U (silver), LC-13E1UB (black) and LC-13E1UW
       (white), are available for an MSRP of $899.95.
     * The 15-inch models, LC-15E1U (silver), LC-15E1UB (black) and LC-15E1UW
       (white), are available for an MSRP of $1,099.95.
     * The 20-inch models, LC-20E1U (silver), LC-20E1UB (black) and LC-20E1UW
       (white), are available for an MSRP of $1,799.95.


    Widescreen Series - 22-and 30-inch AQUOS with 16:9 aspect ratio
     * The 22-inch model, LC-22SV2U, is available for an MSRP of $2,999.95
     * The 30-inch model, LC-30HV2U, is available for an MSRP of $5,999.95.

    Sharp is offering a $100 rebate on select AQUOS models in 13-, 15- and 20-
inch screen sizes until December 31, 2002.  Additional details are available
at http://www.sharpusa.com/rebates

    For more information on Sharp's full line of Liquid Crystal Televisions,
contact Sharp Electronics Corporation, Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, New Jersey 07430
or call 1-800-BE-SHARP.  For online product information, visit Sharp's Web
site at http://www.sharpusa.com.

[Tom Snyder]

Man, don't let Tim C. see these... $2 grand for a 20 inch TV?

But ya'know what.. if people weren't buyin' 'em, they wouldn't be makin' 'em!