Sharp announces bezel less phone

[jamezr]

Sharp announces a bezel-free phone. It is sorta bezel free. But the color is not my favorite...
It is coming to Sprint......so it won't see any sales.....

Sharp has been making interesting phones aimed primarily at its native Japanese market for a number of years, but what makes the Aquos Crystal really special is that it will be launching in the US too. And, it will be coming with a bigger 5.5-inch display version called the Crystal X.

Expected to be officially unveiled on August 19 by Sprint, neither handset will appeal to the uber technophile who demands the latest and greatest processor available at any given moment in time. The 5-inch model will come with a Quad-Core 1.2GHz CPU and the 5.5-inch version a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 chip.

However both will boast the latest version of Android, audio technology courtesy of Harmon Kardon and a 720p HD display. Meaning that for anyone who wants a premium quality Android handset with a big screen that's easy to hold in one hand, the Aquos Crystal will be a very attractive proposition.

 

[Tsuchiya]

Looks good. Closest attempt at bezel free yet, much better than the RAZR i

Top tier design, I wonder what the complete specs are.

 

[mKTank]

Except it's going to be a pain in the ass to use. The thing I hated the most about my old G2 (aside from the dumb back buttons) was the fact that I'd accidentally tap on absolutely everything at the edges by just holding the phone. There needs to be some kind of bezel to prevent accidental input from the edges. This phone is going to be wildly uncomfortable just for the sake of looking cool on a table.

 

[Cnasty]

That's dead sexy.

Wait until they do an entire front face of glass with no bezels. Not even the bottom like this one!

 

[jrswizzle]

Except it's going to be a pain in the ass to use. The thing I hated the most about my old G2 (aside from the dumb back buttons) was the fact that I'd accidentally tap on absolutely everything at the edges by just holding the phone. There needs to be some kind of bezel to prevent accidental input from the edges. This phone is going to me wildly uncomfortable just for the sake of looking cool on a table.

I completely agree.

I think this particular model is ugly as sin and think completely bezel-less smartphones are wildly impractical and likely incredibly fragile.

 

[Shuri]

Except it's going to be a pain in the ass to use. The thing I hated the most about my old G2 (aside from the dumb back buttons) was the fact that I'd accidentally tap on absolutely everything at the edges by just holding the phone. There needs to be some kind of bezel to prevent accidental input from the edges. This phone is going to me wildly uncomfortable just for the sake of looking cool on a table.

It's easy to solve by software: just ignore those touches smartly. So you have your bezel and yet the bigger screen.

 

[2984839]

My main complaint with my S3 is that I can't hold it without accidentally touching stuff. This looks much worse.

That's my main complaint with the "Thinner is better" nonsense too.

 

[jrswizzle]

It's easy to solve by software: just ignore those touches smartly. So you have your bezel and yet the bigger screen.

I have yet to see a device do this REALLY well.....

 

[Dontazemebro]

Smart technology can solve that issue. Bring on the bezel-free displays I say.

 

[Savor]

I like it.

Software can always prevent accidental touches on the sides.
If you use All In One Gestures app, you can see the area of the gesture areas if you change the color other than transparent.

Bezel-less would cut down the fat in all directions. Keeps dimensions smaller while still having a big screen.

 

[maflynn]

Nice looking but yet I think functionally speaking it may not be practical. False taps may be an issue even with software to ignore it.

 

[Savor]

Kudos to Sharp for trying. They were one of the first to introduce 1080p screens on smartphones to the world. They generally aren't as popular as they used to be, but their screen technology is still excellent. It is why companies like Apple still partner up with them or LG for their iPhone displays.

I would like for companies to trim more bezel in the top and bottom which includes Apple. This is why LG G3's footprint is no bigger than the HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z2 and it has the bigger screen.

 

[Fireblade]

I am using Lg g3, previous G2, and never had a problem because of the thin bezels..
Wondering how people are holding their phones or what kind of hands they have...

 

[ucfgrad93]

Except it's going to be a pain in the ass to use. The thing I hated the most about my old G2 (aside from the dumb back buttons) was the fact that I'd accidentally tap on absolutely everything at the edges by just holding the phone. There needs to be some kind of bezel to prevent accidental input from the edges. This phone is going to me wildly uncomfortable just for the sake of looking cool on a table.

While it looks pretty amazing, I have to agree with you on this. I just wonder how practical it will be to use on a daily basis.

 

[nfl46]

Price will be $239 off contract with Sprint.

 

[Mechayoshi]

That bottom thick bezel is ugly and the camera is at the bottom too? Also, sprint only is blah...

 

[spinedoc77]

Except it's going to be a pain in the ass to use. The thing I hated the most about my old G2 (aside from the dumb back buttons) was the fact that I'd accidentally tap on absolutely everything at the edges by just holding the phone. There needs to be some kind of bezel to prevent accidental input from the edges. This phone is going to me wildly uncomfortable just for the sake of looking cool on a table.

Hopefully they have some kind of software check like the ipads do to filter out your hands/fingers on the sides, but I can see this may be a problem. I've never used one of the newer ipads with the tiny side bezels, how well do they filter out unwanted presses?

 

[sviato]

Where's the speaker to hear phone calls?

 

[joshwithachance]

Gorgeous phone with mediocre specs + Sprint network = meh.

 

[mKTank]

Hopefully they have some kind of software check like the ipads do to filter out your hands/fingers on the sides, but I can see this may be a problem. I've never used one of the newer ipads with the tiny side bezels, how well do they filter out unwanted presses?

Well the Air's side bezels are still wide enough that skin won't fold over onto the screen. I've never had any accidental input there.

 

[Cnasty]

Price will be $239 off contract with Sprint.

Well thats the first red flag to stay away. Sprint was actually the first now that I think about it.

 

[xraydoc]

Small bezel, big chin.

I do wonder where the earpiece speaker is.

 

[tbayrgs]

Small bezel, big chin.

I do wonder where the earpiece speaker is.

There isn't one. The entire front panel serves as the speaker. From CNet's preview:

Looking at the phone, there's no light sensor or camera lens along the top edge, like you find on most devices. Instead those features are either at the bottom-front of the phone, or on the back. There's no cutout ear piece either and that's because the Aquos Crystal employs a unique bit of technology which uses the entire front panel to create sound, meaning you can hold your ear to the screen to hear a phone call.

 

[Savor]

I always pictured the future of smartphones to be as thin as credit cards and be all-screen similar to what I saw in that Microsoft Office (future video) or in the movie Looper.

At this point, I would be happy if manufacturers start trimming more of the top and bottom bezel. The Sony Xperia ZL from last year probably had one of the best screen to bezel ratio along with the 4.7 inch screens of the Huawei Ascend P6 and Motorola Moto X. The Xperia ZL was actually shorter than the ZR model (4.65 inch) and Moto X was shorter than the Moto G but had the slightly bigger screen.

 

[JaySoul]

I always pictured the future of smartphones to be as thin as credit cards and be all-screen similar to what I saw in that Microsoft Office (future video) or in the movie Looper.

At this point, I would be happy if manufacturers start trimming more of the top and bottom bezel. The Sony Xperia ZL from last year probably had one of the best screen to bezel ratio along with the 4.7 inch screens of the Huawei Ascend P6 and Motorola Moto X. The Xperia ZL was actually shorter than the ZR model (4.65 inch) and Moto X was shorter than the Moto G but had the slightly bigger screen.

Realistically you will always need some physical space, just for things like battery, speakers, connectivity, chips etc etc.

I can't see phones losing too much more bezel than this and the G3.