Sharp Aquos smartphone: high-end feel, low-end price

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence Central for Sprint. I received a sample device to facilitate this review

Everyone knows that Sharp makes great televisions.  But did you know that Sharp also makes great phones? As a SprintMom Ambassador, I received Sprint's new Sharp AQUOS Crystal smartphone to review.  Sprint is launching it in the US for their prepaid brands (Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA), but the Sharp AQUOS is no cheapie prepaid phone!  It's a beautiful, hi-end piece of technology which brings together the best of Sharp's screen technology, Sprint's Spark (enhanced LTE) network, and Google's Android software.

The first thing you notice about this phone is how the screen takes up the whole phone!  The screen goes all the way to the edge of the phone, so it has a much larger screen than other phones of the same size.

The second thing you notice about this phone is that it looks and feels like a high end phone.  It's incredibly thin and lightweight.  The display is sharp and crisp and vibrant.

Did you know that the Sharp Aquos features Harman/Kardon sound technology?  That's right, you get that world famous high quality sound!  We reviewed another Sprint phone with Harman/Kardon sound a few months ago, and you can really tell the difference in quality.  And did you know that the entire screen acts as a speaker?  That's right, you can put your ear anywhere on the phone and still be able to hear your calls and music easily.  The back of the phone has a regular speakerphone as well.

Another great feature of the Sharp AQUOS is Wifi-enabled calling. This lets users place calls and text messages over WiFi when on a home or public WiFi network.  This is a great way to take advantage of WiFi to save money on your phone plans without losing any quality!   Whenever I've used the phone, I don't even notice that I'm calling via WiFi instead of a cellular phone network.

The 8-megapixel camera isn't mind-blowing compared to the more expensive Sprint phones that we've reviewed in the past, but it's still pretty decent. Here's a sample photo taken by the camera.  The only retouching I did to the photo was to crop Alfie's legs out of the photo.  I didn't do anything other than snap the photo to get that gorgeous sky blue color! The phone also has great camera features like Night Catch, which brightens the subject and background for nighttime shots, and Smile Capture, a feature that automatically takes photos when it detects a smile!

See, here's the problem -- the Sharp AQUOS has such great features, it's easy to forget that it's priced in the $149 prepaid phone range!  It feels so high-end, I find myself comparing it to high-end but high-priced phones.  The reality is that it's a decent phone, even compared to the high-end phones, but it's a fantastic phone compared to other phones in a similar price range!

More about Sharp AQUOS Crystal
SoftBank and Sprint merge to bring the Sharp AQUOS Crystal smartphone to the United States. Sprint and its prepaid brands (Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA) are the exclusive U.S. carriers for this groundbreaking AQUOS device.

Sharp, a company known worldwide for its unique one-of-a-kind electronics is determined to create a balance between work and personal time with products that can benefit customers’ lives.

Sharp AQUOS Crystal breaks the mold of traditional smartphone design. From stunning picture quality and an immersive, vibrant display, to its sleek, 5-inch edge-to-edge HD screen, AQUOS Crystal revolutionizes the mobile phone experience.


Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence Central for Sprint. I received a sample device to facilitate this review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own. #MC #SprintMom #sponsored
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