computer science

Sharp Corporation

Sharp Corporation is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sharp Corporation rather than just read about it. In short: Sharp Corporation (シャープ株式会社, Shāpu Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese electronics company. It is headquartered in Sakai, Osaka, and was founded by Tokuji Hayakawa in 1912 in Honjō, Tokyō, and established as the Hayakawa Metal Works Institute in Abeno-ku, Osaka, in 1924.

Key takeaways

Sharp Corporation belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sharp Corporation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sharp Corporation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sharp Corporation (シャープ株式会社, Shāpu Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese electronics company. It is headquartered in Sakai, Osaka, and was founded by Tokuji Hayakawa in 1912 in Honjō, Tokyō, and established as the Hayakawa Metal Works Institute in Abeno-ku, Osaka, in 1924. Since 2016, it is majority owned by the Taiwan-based manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., better known as Foxconn. Sharp makes and has made throughout its history various different consumer electronic products, including kitchen appliances such as microwave ovens, cookers, washing machines and refrigerators; home appliances such as solar cells, vacuum cleaners, air purifiers dehumidifier and lighting; home and office devices such as printers, computer displays, TV sets, camcorders, VCRs, as well as calculators and various audio products such as radios, audio systems and wireless speakers. Sharp's net sales reached 2.55 trillion yen in fiscal year 2022 (ending 29 February 2024), according to Statista. This represents a slight increase from the previous year's figure of 2.5 trillion yen.

History

Early years 1912–1945

In 1912, Tokuji Hayakawa founded a metal workshop in Honjo, Tokyo. The first of his many inventions was a snap buckle named 'Tokubijo'. Another of his inventions was the Ever-Ready Sharp mechanical pencil in 1915. The product became one of the first internationally available mechanical pencils (while concurrent US design replaced it soon and became a modern type), and due to this big success the Sharp Corporation derived its name from it. After the pencil business was destroyed by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the company relocated to Osaka and began designing the first generation of Japanese radio sets. These went on sale in 1925. The company was established as "Hayakawa Metal Works" in 1924, in Tanabe-cho, Osaka. In 1942, the name was changed to "Hayakawa Electric Industry Company".

1945–1999

In 1953, Hayakawa Electric started producing the first Japan-made TV sets (the "Sharp TV3-14T"). In 1964, the company developed the world's first transistor calculator (the Sharp CS-10A), which was priced at JP¥535,000 (US$1,400). It took Sharp several years to develop the product as it had no experience in making computing devices at the time. Two years later, in 1966, Sharp introduced its first IC calculator using 145 Mitsubishi Electric-made bipolar ICs, priced at JP¥350,000 (about US$1000). Its first LSI calculator was introduced in 1969. This was the first pocketable calculator priced at less than JP¥100,000 (less than US$300), and turned out to be a popular item. Also in the same era the company introduced the first microwave oven with a turntable between 1964 and 1966. The company was renamed Sharp Corporation in 1970. Sharp produced the first LCD calculator in 1973. Sharp had a working relationship with Nintendo during the 1980s, and was granted licensing rights for the manufacture and development of the C1 Famicom TV (1983), the Twin Famicom (1986), the Sharp Nintendo Television (1989), the Famicom Titler (1989), and the Super Famicom Naizou TV SF1 (1990). All of these units are considered collector's items on the secondary market. One of the company's main inventors of LCD calculators was Tadashi Sasaki. In the 1970s and 1980s Sharp produced 8-bit home computers known as Sharp MZ and Sharp X1 based on Zilog Z80, and even a 16/32-bit gaming computer X68000 based on Motorola 68000. The PC (Pocket Computer) series of calculators produced by Sharp in the 1980s had BASIC programmability, and had full QWERTY keyboards, see Sharp PC-1500. Sharp introduced low-cost microwave ovens affordable for residential use in the late 1970s. Sharp was known as a mass marketed electronics manufacturer, known for quality, durability and affordability, however Sharp ventured into the high end stereo market in 1976 with the introduction of high end receivers, amplifiers, speakers, turntables and cassette recorders. The Optonica line as it was called, consisted of high quality and technically advanced components, that was expanded in 1979, to cover a broader selection of high end equipment. During this run, Sharp introduced digital technology to some of the Optonica products, along with the traditional analogue products, and offered a complete selection of models ranging from low power high end receivers to very powerful models. The line was again changed, in 1981, and moved mainly into digital high end, complete stereo systems with advanced technological features setting the trend towards the digital age. The line was discontinued after 1981, but the Optonica line was again re-introduced in the late 1980s for a high end line of television receivers and higher quality mass market audio products such as VCRs, surround sound receivers, CD cassette boom boxes, and portable cassette players. The first low-priced fax machine was introduced by the company in 1984 selling about 80 thousands only in US that year The first wall-mountable TV was introduced by Sharp in 1992.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sharp Corporation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sharp Corporation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sharp Corporation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sharp Corporation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sharp Corporation

In research: Sharp Corporation appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sharp Corporation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sharp Corporation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1940s initial public offerings, Companies based in Osaka Prefecture, Companies in the Nikkei 225, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sharp Corporation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sharp Corporation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sharp Corporation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sharp Corporation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sharp Corporation in simple terms?

Why does Sharp Corporation matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sharp Corporation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sharp Corporation.