It’s been a few years since Japanese electronics company Sharp has offered a smartphone in the United States. But it looks like one of Sharp’s latest phones could be coming to America… and it’s leaving behind the thick bezels.
Sharp unveiled two new smartphones in Japan this week, and at least one of those phones will be heading to the US. As Phone Arena notes, the Sharp Aquos Crystal smartphone will likely be offered by US wireless carrier Sprint.
Update: It’s official. The Sharp Aquos Crystal is coming to Sprint, Boost Mobile, and Virgin mobile and sells for $239 without a contract.
The handset features a 5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel display, a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, 1.5 GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 2040mAh battery. It’ll likely be positioned as a mid-range phone with a reasonably affordable price tag.
It does have some premium features though, including Harman Kardon audio, and a screen which covers the vast majority of the front of the device, thanks to some of the thinnest bezels I’ve seen on a phone.
Sharp also introduced a more impressive Aquos Crystal X phone in Japan this week, featuring a 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor. But it’s not clear if that model will make it to the West anytime soon.
Update: The Verge has some hands-on photos, and the side bezels are really pretty close to non-existent.
via Engadget
So worth what you get for the money!
It LOOKS cool, but my phone has enough trouble already getting confused by my palm or fingers wrapping around slightly touching the edges of the screen. This one would probably not work well for me.
what os? i hope it is Tizen.
they should make the screen square.
As soon as you say Sharp, the first question is – Does it have an IGZO screen?
Add Tegra K1 and make it the Nexus 6 and I’ll pay what ever you want!
“… screen witch covers…”? Editor much?
They just put everything in the bottom. That’s the largest bottom bezel I’ve seen all year.
True. I didn’t really notice the camera was at the bottom until you pointed it out.
hardly big at all, that is if those buttons are on screen. Awful camera placement though, love the thinness but I wouldn’t have minded if they put the camera up top.
I wonder how the drop tests fared in testing. Probably not too good I’d imagine. I do like the look of this quite a bit, but I don’t want casual knocks destroying my screen. Oh, and if they can do this on a phone I expect a TV to have something similar. My Sony TV has thin bezels but I want this type of bezel in my next one.
I suspect that drop testing won’t be a problem because most people protect their phones with cases. Personally, I never let my phone out of it’s hybrid case ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0071AQNVW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ).
A case doesn’t guarantee a non cracked screen from a drop. It helps to minimize impact but doesn’t eliminate one’s accidental fumbles. In fact, with such a narrow bezel, there isn’t much a case will do here since there isn’t much surface area on the sides to grab on to and protect. Don’t believe me? Poll iPhone 4 or 4S users and ask how their glass back cover is fairing. Then you’ll get an idea of how a glass front will be 😉
I think it depends on the case. The half-plastic half-silicone hybrid cases like the one I linked are usually tough enough for most drops (I know I drop my phone all the time and it has yet to have any problems). The one time I broke a screen was with one of these cases: ( https://www.miniinthebox.com/game-boy-design-hard-case-for-samsung-galaxy-note-2-n7100_p491903.html ), which was just a big chunk of plastic and practically useless.
Is the bezel so thin because of the screen witch?
cute
needs more bezel
I’m so over the bezel