57-inch Sharp LC-57D90U: sharpening the Aquos line

As if laying claim to producing the world's (and most expensive, natch) LCD TV, the 65-inch LC-65D90U, wasn't enough to brag about, Sharp has decided to bolster its vaunted Aquos LCD line with another heavy hitter: the 57-inch LC-57D90U. While measuring in at 8 inches less than the mammoth LC-6590U, Sharp is promising to make some significant strides in other areas of the LC-57D90U's performance while keeping the best of 65-incher's feature set--particularly the 1080p native resolution. With a quicker response time (less than 4ms), a wider viewing angle (176 degrees), and a higher contrast ratio (1,500:1) than any other commercially available Sharp LCD TV, the LC-57D90U has the potential to become the attention-stealing kid brother of the Aquos line. True contrast-ratio aficionados, however, may want to hold out for Sharp's recently announced broadcast professional LCD monitor, which boasts a slightly more impressive 1,000,000:1 ratio. Expect to see the LC-57D90U on sales floors in March for $16,000.