Sharp Aquos Crystal - Nearly Bezel-less Beauty

radeon962

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
1,284
http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/18/sharps-new-bezel-less-smartphone-will-land-in-us-thanks-to-spri/

https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/sharp-aquos-crystal-nearly-bezel-less-beauty.91256/#post-4452718


It's been a long, long time since Sharp shipped a phone in the United States (remember this thing?) but it looks like that drought may soon be over. The Japanese electronics giant just pulled back the curtain on a pair of smartphones that barely have bezels, and one of them is slated to land here sooner or later. Sharp's Aquos Crystal X is the more impressive of the two -- aside from the fact that there's hardly any material running around its 5.5-inch 1080p display, there's a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 ticking away inside its 10mm thick chassis. Alas, it's the less-powerful Aquos Crystal that's expected find its way stateside. There still aren't any bezels to speak of, but it packs a comparatively paltry 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 and a 5-inch 720p display -- expect the price tag to reflect those decidedly mid-range ambitions.

It's surprising enough to see Sharp gearing up to re-enter the crowded US smartphone market, but what's really surprising is that we're not getting some random one-off gadget like the Sharp FX this time. It may not be the most impressive of the two, but the Aquos Crystal still seems like an interesting choice for a company that hasn't always put its best foot forward around these parts. Sprint hasn't officially confirmed it'll offer the Crystal, but it looks an awful lot like a lock at this point. Case in point: the carrier is holding a press conference in New York tomorrow night, and its invitation is rife with crystalline symbolism and a tag line that jibes with the Aquos' bezel-less screen
 
Sharp is only bringing the inferior version to the US? With phones like the recent launch of the LG G3 and upcoming Note 4, iPhone 6, and new Nexus, they are going to have one hell of a hard time making sales. Totally setting themselves up for failure, imo.
 
Sharp is only bringing the inferior version to the US? With phones like the recent launch of the LG G3 and upcoming Note 4, iPhone 6, and new Nexus, they are going to have one hell of a hard time making sales. Totally setting themselves up for failure, imo.

Not if they can manage to make it in the price range of "free with 2 year upgrade." Remember that not everyone is a techie that needs the best newest stuff out, in fact most don't care or don't realize. Just look at all the YouTube videos of people going around with a knockoff POS Chinese phone saying it's the new icrap 6 and they all love the laggy thing anyways, the masses are clueless.
 
The side bezels are thinner but they just moved the top bezel and added it to the bottom.
 
Not really, it is rather small especially when compared to HTC's phones.
 
Not really, it is rather small especially when compared to HTC's phones.
HTC buys panels from Samsung/Sony (S-LCD Corp). Right now, pretty much all screens could be made with tiny bezels in all but one side for the connectors. Here's hoping that a true all 4 side tiny bezel could become cheap to manufacturer.

This Sharp phone is $239 off contract?! Moto G killer?
 
Last edited:
So does the ear piece face upwards?

The earpiece is actually layered into the screen, there is a thin transparent aluminum sheet that vibrates between the glass and the LCD panel, basically making the screen in to a large speaker.
It senses where your ear is located projects the sound towards that location.
In speakerphone mode, the film vibrates at higher amplitute making the entire face of the phone into a speaker.
 
The earpiece is actually layered into the screen, there is a thin transparent aluminum sheet that vibrates between the glass and the LCD panel, basically making the screen in to a large speaker.
It senses where your ear is located projects the sound towards that location.
In speakerphone mode, the film vibrates at higher amplitute making the entire face of the phone into a speaker.

So its a large front facing flat speaker. I wonder how good audio media consumption is gonna be or how a tempered screen protector would affect it. Perhaps it could be the strongest vibrating phone.

I hope to see a tablet like this.
 
The earpiece is actually layered into the screen, there is a thin transparent aluminum sheet that vibrates between the glass and the LCD panel, basically making the screen in to a large speaker.
It senses where your ear is located projects the sound towards that location.
In speakerphone mode, the film vibrates at higher amplitute making the entire face of the phone into a speaker.

They should have turned the bottom portion below the screen into a microphone, using the same technology. That way the entire front of the phone would be unbroken. Add wireless charging and include a BT headset and you could have a completely sealed phone. Forget IP67, the new hotness is IP68! :D
 
Last edited:
They look nice, although it might be kind of odd having the camera at the bottom
 
This should be usable on AT&T's network, right?

LOL. No. Not the USA model anyway.

Dunno why you'd want it. Underpowered phone with a low resolution screen. A joke for the asking price considering the competition.
 
Looks really nice but those square edges are really throwing me off. They look extremely uncomfortable to carry around.
 
hope it sells well enough that they decide to bring over the 5.5 inch version.
 
Back
Top