Sharp Aquos Crystal - Phone with ultra thin bezel

[starwalker]

http://www.androidcentral.com/we-go-hands-sharp-aquos-crystal

 

Copied from above.

 

Sprint has recently announced the Sharp Aquos Crystal and we were very eager to see it in person. Tonight, at an event in New York City, Sprint has shown off this device with stunningly-slim bezels. It's heading to the carrier Sprint and its prepaid Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile brands. Interested? Watch our hands-on video and photos!

The Sharp Aquos Crystal features a 5-inch 720p screen with very little bezel on the top and sides. There's an 8-megapixel camera on the back with 1.2MP on the front, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8 GB for storage, and an embedded 2040mAh battery. It runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat.

Other key features include Harman's LiveStage, which adds dimension to sound, and Clari-Fi technology, which improves digital sound quality by restoring all types of compressed digital music.

 

Another interesting feature is a subscription service called App Pass that allows customers to access a hand-selected catalog of premium apps and games for $4.99 per month after a 14-day free trial. This is exclusive to Sprint in the United States. The App Pass catalog is curated with some of the world's top developers including Gameloft and Oceanhouse Media. It also includes select titles from other developers such as OfficeSuite 7 Pro, Camera Zoom FX, Minuum Keyboard, CamScanner and Color & Draw for Kids.

We're not used to seeing slim bezels on most smartphones, but after playing with the the Aquos Crystal, we'd like to see more manufacturers do the same thing. It makes devices with big screens feel much better to hold.

 

They are coming up with a more powerful version soon.

[Shd0w2]

eh. I don't really care about bezel size as long as it's not OVAR 9000

[dizmo]

This is pretty old news.

Interesting phone though, especially since it comes in at $149 off contract.

Not sure how I'd find the sound being generated by the display though. Something I'd definitely want to try out before I bought it.

[wng_kingsley7]

Well can't wait till LG is officially showing off their bezeless smartphone #TheFutureIsEpic!

[werto165]

[Kherm]

"a 5-inch 720p screen with very little bezel on the top and sides. There's an 8-megapixel camera on the back with 1.2MP on the front, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8 GB for storage, and an embedded 2040mAh battery. It runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat".

The only thing good about that phone is the bezel, that's it

[AlexStriz]

still waiting for project ara.....

[Scheer]

"a 5-inch 720p screen with very little bezel on the top and sides. There's an 8-megapixel camera on the back with 1.2MP on the front, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8 GB for storage, and an embedded 2040mAh battery. It runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat".

The only thing good about that phone is the bezel, that's it

 

Seeing as it costs $150 off contract, can you find a better deal?

 

I think its extremely impressive... then again I'm a Sharp fanboy. 

[EricX2]

I was about to buy one but Sprint... I don't plan on switching off T-Mobile. Sure those specs seem bad for a top of the line phone but for a no contract phone to be $150 it's not bad. Still, Sprint. Why can't we just have a standard phone network like the rest of the world.

[felixthemaster1]

http://www.androidcentral.com/we-go-hands-sharp-aquos-crystal

 

Copied from above.

 

Sprint has recently announced the Sharp Aquos Crystal and we were very eager to see it in person. Tonight, at an event in New York City, Sprint has shown off this device with stunningly-slim bezels. It's heading to the carrier Sprint and its prepaid Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile brands. Interested? Watch our hands-on video and photos!

The Sharp Aquos Crystal features a 5-inch 720p screen with very little bezel on the top and sides. There's an 8-megapixel camera on the back with 1.2MP on the front, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8 GB for storage, and an embedded 2040mAh battery. It runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat.

 

Other key features include Harman's LiveStage, which adds dimension to sound, and Clari-Fi technology, which improves digital sound quality by restoring all types of compressed digital music.

 

 

Another interesting feature is a subscription service called App Pass that allows customers to access a hand-selected catalog of premium apps and games for $4.99 per month after a 14-day free trial. This is exclusive to Sprint in the United States. The App Pass catalog is curated with some of the world's top developers including Gameloft and Oceanhouse Media. It also includes select titles from other developers such as OfficeSuite 7 Pro, Camera Zoom FX, Minuum Keyboard, CamScanner and Color & Draw for Kids.

 

We're not used to seeing slim bezels on most smartphones, but after playing with the the Aquos Crystal, we'd like to see more manufacturers do the same thing. It makes devices with big screens feel much better to hold.

 

 

They are coming up with a more powerful version soon.

Shame they waste screenspace with the menu buttons. They should have  used that bottom lip for capacitive ones so they don't waste screen space.

[Majinferno]

Your pretty late man :l

MKBHD did a whole review on this with the speed of one arm

[Scheer]

Shame they waste screenspace with the menu buttons. They should have  used that bottom lip for capacitive ones so they don't waste screen space.

 

I'd assume they needed the full thickness of the phone there for certain components. As you can see the mic and speakerphone speaker are there, likely along with the SOC.

 

A neat part of this phone is they somehow put the ear speaker behind the screen and it somehow works.

[LAwLz]

It's pretty cool but the drawbacks are just too big to be worth it in my opinion.

The phone becomes super fragile, there is no room for a proper speaker and you do want a bit of bezel to prevent accidentally though the screen.

It looks great but it's impractical.

[tobi]

I wish the wife wasn't such a Apple fangirl so I could buy this for her..

Sexy looking thing with the right price tag.

[Misanthrope]

Looks cool but even the Moto X (original) sometimes drives me nuts to type with because it's too hard to hit the keys so near the edge. I wouldn't use this unless its a 6 inch phone and I can make the keyboard smaller yet usable so it's away the bezels (or lack thereof) and even then a lot of things near the edge would be too uncomfortable to use.