Sprint lands a Sharp AQUOS Crystal exclusive: 5" edgeless display, Harman Kardon audio

posted by Daniel P. / Aug 19, 2014, 8:46 AM

Boost gets the white AQUOS Crystal

When SoftBank announced the revolutionary Sharp Aquos Crystal yesterday, a little birdie was telling us that today's "Taкe the edge off" Sprint event in New York was all about that phone, and the edgeless handset indeed just became official on Sprint, as well as Boost and Virgin. The Aquos Crystal has almost no side and top bezels, which allows it to fit a 5" panel in a size that is more akin to a 4.5" model. Actually, the phone is just 5 inches (131mm) in height and 2.6 inches (67mm) in width. For comparison, that's about as compact as the Moto G, while having a half-inch larger display diagonal. Thus, the Crystal sports one of the best screen-to-body ratios in the industry, with about 78.21% of the front being a pure display surface - better than, say, the LG G2.

Spec-wise, the phone has a 5" 720p panel, an LTE-capable quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC running at 1.2GHz, 1.5 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage space, and runs on Android 4.4.2. The battery capacity is 2040 mAh, which might not seem much, but let's not forget that the Crystal display is made with Sharp's IGZO technology, so the company promises three days of battery life with normal usage.

Black Crystal model stays with Virgin, while Sprint gets both colors

Additionally, the phone is equipped with a Harman Kardon sound effects engine when in headset mode, with support for "Clari-Fi" (restoring of information lost when compressing music), "LiveStage" streaming, and native compatibility with the Harman Kardon ONYX Studio Bluetooth speaker.

Best of all, the first tangible product of the Sprint-SoftBank collaboration comes with the great pricing of zero on a two-year contract, and $149.00 on prepaid with Boost or Virgin. The Sharp Aquos Crystal will be available for release in the USA on August 29, with pre-orders starting today. If you don't want to have it for free on Sprint, or for $150 with Boost or Virgin's services, the MSRP is just $239.99, a pretty great price for such an ergonomic handset indeed.

Furthermore, together with the Crystal, Sprint will inherit a great service from Softbank, called App Pass. It is essentially an app renting option, which will add $4.99 to your mobile monthly bill, but you will be able to install a curated selection of premium apps for free, so it might save you a bunch of money in the end, depending on how much you spend on apps. Some of the examples include OfficeSuite 7 Pro, Camera Zoom FX, Minuum Keyboard, CamScanner and Color & Draw for Kids, as well as games from powerhouses like Gameloft.

Sharp Aquos Crystal

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source: Sprint

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PhoneArena Rating:

8.5

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Display 5.0" 720 x 1280 pixels

Camera 8 MP / 1.2 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, Quad-core, 1200 MHz

Storage 8 GB + microSDXC

Battery 2040 mAh(13h talk time)

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27 Comments

1. itsdeepak4u2000

Posts: 3718; Member since: Nov 03, 2012

Awesome... Bezel less... Need to rest only one arm. :)

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 8:50 AM 3

2. Amir1 unregistered

this is a good example for a phone that puts style over usability/ergonomics. there are thing better looking at then holding, but wait, a phone is not a picture at an exhibition... this phone fails, but i like their courage.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 8:50 AM 1

3. marcski07

Posts: 600; Member since: Apr 25, 2014

why it is fail?

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 8:53 AM 0

9. Sealblaighter

Posts: 427; Member since: Jan 26, 2014

Sharp it's a very GOOD Japanese company. You may think they fail because they are not entered in the global markets(yet).

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 9:15 AM 3

22. jaytai0106

Posts: 1888; Member since: Mar 30, 2011

Believe or not, a lot of best Japanese products are kept in Japan. They don't want to share it with anybody else. Just take a trip to Japan and you'll be surprised.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 3:13 PM 1

27. Sealblaighter

Posts: 427; Member since: Jan 26, 2014

You can buy any Japanese smart phone from Ntt Docomo, and by next year from KDDi and Softbank too! Go and check kyoex.com.

posted on Aug 20, 2014, 10:53 AM 1

4. chunky1x

Posts: 270; Member since: Mar 28, 2010

The beauty of edge to edge display is lost when most people cover up the phone with a case.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 8:53 AM 4

5. abhishekvashishth

Posts: 20; Member since: Aug 19, 2014

Imagine when you answering calls. Oh okay. They're so genious(sharp) just rotate your phone from top to bottom & answer calls. Oh wow! Is it a great idea? I think it's a fail.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 8:55 AM 2

10. Sealblaighter

Posts: 427; Member since: Jan 26, 2014

Maybe it doesn't have front speakers, as a Kyocera smart phone had. Yes, yes, I know you look at me as I am a fool, but Kyocera actually made a smart phone which does not have a speaker. Do not ask me what kind of advanced technology they used, but they did it! :D

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 9:18 AM 2

15. o0Exia0o

Posts: 903; Member since: Feb 01, 2013

Your not lying. I remember the phone, the Kyocera Hydro Elite. Here it is: http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Kyocera-Hydro-Elite_id7905 No speakers on it at all.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 10:09 AM 0

20. Sealblaighter

Posts: 427; Member since: Jan 26, 2014

There is a Japan only Kyocera too. I love Japanese mobile phones! :) Anyway, I have good news:By next year, Softbank and KDDI carriers will unlock their mobile phones too just as Ntt Docomo did in 2011! Wow!

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 12:57 PM 0

18. Sharky

Posts: 259; Member since: Jun 24, 2008

Yeah they actually mention it in the video. It uses the same bone induction technology (they just have a different name for it). Looking like an awesome phone for the price. If it has GSM/WCDMA I might just get one.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 11:14 AM 0

25. serge327

Posts: 79; Member since: Aug 27, 2012

please refer to this latest Phonereana posted. its no need to rotate from top to bottom & answer calls.

posted on Aug 20, 2014, 3:51 AM 0

6. Antimio

Posts: 313; Member since: Nov 11, 2013

GSM capable?

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 8:56 AM 0

7. Wiencon

Posts: 2278; Member since: Aug 06, 2014

Wow, if someone believes in this "Clari-fi" then he must be an idiot.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 9:03 AM 0

8. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

I'm jealous, is there anyway to get this outside US and Japan?

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 9:05 AM 2

11. Sealblaighter

Posts: 427; Member since: Jan 26, 2014

Hello. I think I can help you. Maybe you can not buy this Japanese device, but I know a good site from where you can order any Japanese smart phone from Ntt Docomo(the biggect carrier from Japan). Visit kyoex.com. :)

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 9:20 AM 0

12. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

Hi. The site is a paradise for Japanese smartphones, which is nice. But the problem is that it's from Ntt Docomo so I don't know it works outside Japan or not and it's running on Ntt Docomo's UI. Thanks for suggesting me this site anyways.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 9:33 AM 0

19. ArtSim98

Posts: 3535; Member since: Dec 21, 2012

They are all unlocked. They wouldn't sell them other ways. An they are all set to English before selling. Also I believe you can change between stock android looks and Sharp's own FEEL UX. I haven't heard of them having Ntt Docomo UI.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 12:17 PM 0

13. pwnarena

Posts: 1129; Member since: Feb 15, 2013

if the relatively poor sharp can bring their device to a major US carrier, why can't sony do the same? anyway, i think that device would look better with slightly curved edges.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 9:42 AM 0

17. Sharky

Posts: 259; Member since: Jun 24, 2008

Mainly because of Softbank's relationship with Sprint. If not for that you probably wouldn't be seeing a Sharp phone in the US. But who knows, maybe eventually Softbank will send Sprint some Sony phones as well.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 10:36 AM 0

26. lsutigers

Posts: 832; Member since: Mar 08, 2009

Sony is said to be in talks with Sprint to bring it's Xperia lineup to the US.

posted on Aug 20, 2014, 7:47 AM 0

14. neptune.joel

Posts: 26; Member since: Jan 12, 2011

awesome, just need to eliminate the bottom :D

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 10:05 AM 0

16. iampayne

Posts: 322; Member since: Aug 12, 2013

So can this be unlocked for Verizon or a GSM carrier?

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 10:17 AM 0

21. yep_its_ed unregistered

So the earpiece and FFC are on the bottom bezel? It'll be awkward to have to turn the phone upside down to make calls and use the camera.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 2:59 PM 0

23. na7noo7

Posts: 278; Member since: Mar 29, 2014

It would've been a better idea to move the bottom bezel to the top and trim the bezel to be thinner.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 7:46 PM 0

24. osanilevich

Posts: 287; Member since: Sep 29, 2009

that's a killer deal when you consider what you're getting for the price. Strongly contesting the Moto X, OnePlus One and anything made by Xiaomi for the best deal in mobile

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 8:53 PM 0

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