Meet Sharp's nearly bezel-less Aquos Crystal smartphones Headed to one US carrier

Aquos Crystal smartphones

Sharp is best known for producing household goods like great-looking TVs and ultra-efficient microwaves. After conquering home appliances, Sharp's next move looks to be turning itself into a global smartphone maker of note.

The Japanese electronics firm has announced two new Aquos Crystal smartphones including one that is making its way stateside via Sprint.
While the Aquos Crystal's name might sound sparkly, it has a 5-inch display with a so-so 1280 x 720 resolution.
The most impressive feature about the phone is its sharp and thin rectangular design with almost no bezel around the screen. Thinner bezels not only look better, they also make it easier to hold handsets with massive screens like the LG G3.

Low bar

Harman Kardon had a hand in designing the Aquos Crystal's sound processing technology. Previously the audio specialist helped tune a special edition HTC One M8 released exclusively for Sprint.
The phone otherwise is fairly unremarkable with middling specs starting with yesteryear's 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, which we've seen on other budget handsets like the Moto G.
It also has 1.5GB of RAM and Android 4.4.2 KitKat running on 8GB of internal storage
. Camera-wise users won't find much to email to home about between its 8-megapixel rear shooter or 1.2MP front-facing sensor.

Sprint to the finish

Sprint made the phone official on its network August 19, announcing the device will retail for a prepaid carrier price $149.99, or about £90/AU$161, whenever it goes on sale.
SoftBank will also introduce a larger 5.5-inch Aquos Crystal X in Japan this December. As a slight step up from the Aquos Crystal, Sharp's model X will essentially be the company's phablet device complete with a 1080p screen, newer 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 processor and 13MP camera.
There's no word on if or when the Aquos Crystal X might come to the US, but it looks like yet another Asian smartphone maker is hoping to join the fray alongside Samsung, LG and lesser-knowns like Huawei.

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