If you’re familiar with the electronics company Sharp – it may be because they produce you’re television. But little did you probably know, Sharp is also the largest manufacturer of mobile phones in Japan. But they’ve got plenty of competition, so to keep their edge over the likes of Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Kenwood, Toshiba, NEC, Denso, Pioneer, Sanyo, Kyocera, Hitachi, Casio, and others, Sharp will be launching an Android Phone in early 2010.
While no specifics were included and no carrier promised, company executive Masami Ohbatake did say that NTT DoCoMo “is expected to be first in line.” I don’t see that as anything less than an endorsement with the option to back out if DoCoMo somehow self destructs. Whether the Sharp Android Phone will make it to other Japanese carriers or better yet, other markets around the world, is yet to be determined.
We’ll bring you news as this story develops, but to be blunt, Sharp will likely stick to Japan for Android Phone Round 1.
[Via MarketWatch]