Sharp IS03 puts Android on a Retina Display

Ever wondered how Android will look like on the iPhone 4's Retina Display? Fret not, Sharp has got you covered. More and more Japanese cell phones are getting smartphone operating systems, and the Sharp IS03, slated for the Japanese carrier KDDI, is the next in this trend. The Fujitsu F-06B from the summer's lineup of DoCoMo, for example, runs Symbian, has a 13MP camera that does 1080p full HD video, and is waterproof.

Running Android 2.1 (with Froyo later on) is one thing, but combining it with 3.5" 640x960 pixels screen, which Apple popularized as Retina Display, due to the insane resolution, adds more fuel to the fire. Sharp is one of the top screen companies, so it probably didn't cost the guys much to come up with such resolution on its own technology for wider viewing angles. It also sports a second display for the capacitive Android buttons, which can actually show time and notifications, without the main one being active.

To top it all off, Sharp wants you to have fun with a 9MP camera, which, from the looks of it (Full HD option  in the camera interface), records 1080p full HD video. The IS03 also sports the usual goodies Japan places in its cell phones - 1seg TV tuner, pedometer, and FeliCa chips for contactless mobile payments. The Sharp IS03 goes on sale in November, and supports CDMA 1x EV-DO Rev.A (KDDI calls it CDMA 1X WIN). The handset is offered in black, orange and white, and there is a nice video presentation of it below.

source: MobileWatch