My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica: Sharp and Softbank smartphone launched on Tuesday August 19th 2014 – Sharp Aquos Crystal X without Bezel portends an Apple iPhone 6 Without Borders

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Sharp and Softbank smartphone launched on Tuesday August 19th 2014 – Sharp Aquos Crystal X without Bezel portends an Apple iPhone 6 Without Borders

Over the next two (2) weeks, those Apple iPhone 6 lines will start forming in front of stores wanting to be the first to purchase the Apple iPhone come Friday September 12th 2014 as stated in my blog article entitled “WalMart Sale on Apple iPhone 5S and 5C - Apple iPhone 6 expected in September 2014 and is worth its weight in Gold and Sapphires”.

I’ve already given you an idea of what a Sapphire Screen smartphone looks like in the guise of the US$400 Kyocera Brigadier as detailed in my blog article entitled “US$400 Kyocera Brigadier – Verizon's Waterproof, Drop-Proof Unscratchable Unbreakable Sapphire Screen for the Great Outdoors”.

But what about a smartphone without a bezel? The Apple iPhone 6, if it possesses such a strong unscratchable, unbreakable Sapphire screen, wouldn’t need to have a bezel.


It would be like the US$239 Sharp Aquos Crystal that was launched on Tuesday August 19th 2014 as stated in “Sprint Signs On for Sharp 'Aquos Crystal' Smartphone,” published AUGUST 19, 2014 11:58AM EST BY STEPHANIE MLOT, PCMag and “Sprint eyes budget-minded customers with the Sharp Aquos Crystal”, published August 19, 2014 2:44 PM PDT by Ben Fox Rubin, CNET News

As such, another surprise that awaits us with the Apple iPhone 6 may be a bezel-less design, like the latest Sharp Aquos Crystal line of smartphones that’s was expected to be unveiled on Tuesday August 19th 2014 as stated in the “Gorgeous, "frame-less" Sharp Aquos Crystal smartphone coming to Sprint tomorrow?” published 18 Aug 2014, 02:56, by Luis D, Phone Arena based on the advert below.

This is the same Aquos Line that Sharp has for their Flat screen TV and under which they’d launched the rather Aquos Pad SHT 21 as stated in my blog article entitled “SHARP Launches the Aquos Pad SHT 21 sporting IGZO Technology - Paranormal Activity 4 Portable AQUOS TV, Cash Registers and Apple iPad 4”.

History recap aside, what does a bezel-less smartphone look like?

Sharp Aquos Crystal smartphone – Undressing the Sprint Smartphone without Borders

This is a one of a kind smartphone, save for the LG G3, which also sports zero bezel in its design. That bezel is that little strip of no-man's-land between the capacitive touch screen and the extreme edge of the smartphone as shown below.

With a Bezel-less design, screen real estate would be as big as the smartphone itself. But it also implies that the screen would have to be made of a very strong material, such as Sapphire, Gorilla Glass 3 or even Diamonds, which is very possible in the future.

This US$239 Sharp Aquos Crystal smartphone on Softbank owned Telecom Provider Sprint, will turn heads for many reasons. You should remember Softbank, as they’re one of the Japanese Telecom Providers that’s giving NTT DoCoMo competition in Japan during the Apple iPhone 5S launch as noted in my blog article entitled “Apple iPhone 5S Shortages in Japan affecting NTT DoCoMo - Sales going to their competitors SoftBank and KDDI as Global Apple iPhone Shortages ensue”.

It's already fairly top-notch with running on Google Android 4.4.2 aka Kitkat. Powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, the US$239 Sharp Aquos Crystal will sport an edge-to edge 5" 720p display. It's packing a fairly small 1.5GB or RAM with a rather measly microSD SD Card limited of 8GB, which I hope is really a typo, as the standard is 32GBor higher. Hopefully for a 5” Smartphone it isn't too heavy, as it's just 9.91mm (0.39”) thick.

The battery is Apple iPhone grade at 2,040mAh battery. Still it's bigger than the recently released Samsung Galaxy Alpha's 1,860mAh battery a described in my blog article entitled “Samsung Galaxy Alpha with Metallic Band - Last of the 5” smartphones with decreased Battery Life as the Luddite Camp gets Larger”. It's also sporting great sound with support for Harman Kardon ONYX Studio Bluetooth speakers and built-in Harmon Kardon Speakers.


Luckily they do have another version, the Sharp Aquos Crystal X that sounds a lot more like a winner. That smartphone's got a HD 1080p screen, more ample microSD SD Storage touching 32GB and a 2,610mAh battery. Too bad this is for the Japanese and East Asians as the Sharp Aquos Crystal X won't be coming anywhere near to the West anytime soon.

The Sharp Aquos Crystal however is available for US$150 on a Prepaid Plan Sprint. If you choose  Sprint's Easy Pay option, which is basically a Prepaid Plan, it’ll cost US$10 per month for 24 months as stated in “Sharp's Aquos Crystal phone concentrates on design with an edgeless screen”, published August 19, 2014 1:08 PM PDT, CNET News.

Available on a 2 year contract for just under US$20, quite expected given the low level specs of the Sharp Aquos Crystal. It's also available on Boost Mobile or Virgin Mobile for US$149 plus taxes. If you're just want the phone to put on Verizon thanks to the new law that makes unlocking legal as stated in my blog article entitled “Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act makes Cellphone Unlocking Legal again - President Barack Obama upholds DMCA” , it'll cost you US$239 to purchase this Sharp Aquos Crystal  that's got no bezel.


But the lower-end US$239 Sharp Aquos Crystal is coming to the US of A, which based on its specs is something of an insult to Americans, despite being Prepaid Budget friendly. No matter how cheap, as yet a case of the Japanese keeping the better stuff for themselves and selling low-end product to Americans!

More reason, I’d say, for you to just stay in that Apple iPhone 6 line and like a true Apple Fan, await what may be a Sapphire Screen wonder that total undressed and naked without a bezel. 

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