3D smartphones will soon be a reality--if you live in Japan, that is. Two upcoming Sharp smartphones will offer a 3D-capable display.

"I love the Generation Y term 'frenemy,' because today we're partners, tomorrow we're competitors," Sharp Solar senior vice president Eric Hafter said of his rival solar makers.

The Nikkei business daily recently reported that the resistive random access memory chip to be developed by Elpida and Sharp could write data 10,000 times faster than NAND flash memory technology, while consuming less power. The next-generation memory chip is expected to be commercialized around 2013.

Sharp said it made a group net profit of 10.69 billion yen (US$122.2 million) in the April-June quarter, reversing from a 25.2 billion yen net loss in the same period a year earlier.

Japan's Sharp is investing almost 4 billion yen (US$46 million) at a plant in Britain to double production of solar cell modules to meet growing demand across Europe.

Thin-film solar cells are optimal for use in a high-temperature climate, compared to crystalline solar cells. Sharp's experience in the mass production of thin-film solar cells has enabled Sharp to take part in this project. The thin-film solar cell modules to be used in the power generation plant will be supplied partially from Sharp's solar cell plant at Osaka Prefecture.

Japan's Sanyo Electricis in talks with several suppliers, including a Taiwanese firm, to procure solar cells

Sharp, which makes Aquos brand LCD TVs, initially played down the urgency of selling 3D TVs, questioning whether consumers wanted them. But with 3D growing hotter not only with Hollywood releases but also flat-panel TVs for living rooms, Sharp is switching gears.

Sharp's solar business is on track to turn its first annual profit as the company looks to expand production and forge partnerships with corporations worldwide to expand the use of solar power generation.

Sharp, Japan's largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, posted a second straight half-year loss because of declining sales of LCD panels. The net loss was 17.7 billion yen (US$196 million) in the six months ended September 30, compared with a profit of 28 billion yen a year earlier.

The current industry shortage of LCD panels could continue through the middle of next year, the head of a unit at Japan's Sharp said, in a potential move to shore up investor confidence in panel makers.