Sharp Aquos Crystal officially announced as an exclusive to Sprint in the U.S.

Sprint, during an event which took place in New York, unveiled the Sharp Aquos Crystal. A handset which would be exclusively available in the U.S. through Sprint, as well as Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. What's unique about the Aquos Crystal is that it has no no side and top bezels, which gives it a very compact size despite its generous 5 inch display.

In terms of specs the Aquos Crystal features a 5 inch 720p HD display made with Sharp's IGZO technology, 8GB of internal storage which can be expanded through microSD, an 8MP rear camera, a 1.2MP front camera, LTE connectivity, and a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor with 1.5GB of RAM. The handset is powered by a 2040mAh battery, which Sharp claims can offer up to three days of battery life with normal use, thanks to the display technology.

Additionally the Aquos Crystal features 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. Boost customers will get the white Aquos Crystal, while Virgin Mobile customers get the Black model. Meanwhile Sprint customers will have the option of selecting between both colors.

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.

source - Sprint