A super-fine television display where viewers cannot see the dots making up the picture and a small car that automatically phones for help after a crash were unveiled on September 1 in Berlin on the eve of the IFA consumer electronics show. Europe's biggest digital gadget expo opened on September 2 and runs until September 7.
Sharp of Japan claimed a first with a television that is 16 times as sharp as current HD flat-panel displays, but it will not be available in the shops just yet. The 85-inch panel Sharp showed at a news conference features a 7,680 by 4,320 pixel display, meaning its picture is made up of 33 million colour dots. Reports say Japan may start transmitting TV programmes at that resolution by 2020.
US car maker Ford said in Berlin it would manufacture its compact European model, the Focus, from next year with an internet-capable entertainment system code-named SYNC developed by Microsoft, complete with the help-me emergency feature.
The system automatically makes a wireless phone call to the police or fire services whenever one of the car's airbags fire in an accident. It also discloses the car's location in a message translated into the local language.