Once again it appears that Japan seems to be getting their hands on cooler technology ahead of the rest of the world. Sharp has been working on what they’re calling the “world’s thinnest optically image-stabilized smartphone camera”, which is a 12.1MP, 1/3.2” shooter that measures a mere 11.0×11.0x5.47mm. On top of that it will feature a backlit module, provide image stabilization and to top it all of, will have the ability to record 1080p Full HD videos.
Sharp has plans to ramp up production in January of 2012 but here’s the good news for those living in Japan. While mass production will only begin in 2012, Sharp will be deploying this new camera module in two of their Android smartphones – the Sharp Aquos Phone SH-01D (will be available on NTT DoCoMo) and the 102SH (which will arrive on Softbank) some time by the end of the year.
Hopefully Sharp will be licensing out this new piece of technology as a smaller and thinner camera module will ultimately translate into a slimmer smartphone for the rest of us.