This looks like big news from Sharp in the mutli– touch screen realm. The 3.5 inch LCD has an optically sensor embedded in each pixel. It reduces the need for films or special coatings.

Sharp developed its proprietary System LCD technology to successfully embed an optical sensor used in devices like scanners in each pixel of the LCD panel. This technology eliminates the need for films, resulting in a thinner, beautifully clear screen display compared to conventional touch screens. In addition, tactile recognition based on simultaneously touching multiple points on the screen is now possible, a feature previously difficult to implement. For example, users can easily tap the screen with two fingers to enlarge or reduce a displayed map. Also, the scanner function can be used to scan in a business card placed on top of the screen, and further improvements to this function are expected to enable fingerprint authentication in the future.

 Sharp is aiming for mass production next spring.

Thanks to Kenneth Auchenberg who tipped us to the Engadget post.