Sharp SX862
Discontinued 16th July 2008
Although Sharp mobile phones are a familiar
sight in Japan, in the rest of the world they have
become something of a "forgotten brand" with
a series of unexciting phones which are nothing like
the high-tech devices sold in the Japanese market.
A few years ago, Sharp was pretty much the market
leader when it came to technical wizardry. Sharp introduced
QVGA displays with the GX20
back in 2003, 1.3 and 2.0 megapixel camera phones with
the Sharp GX30
and 902,
followed by the 3.2 megapixel Sharp
903 in 2005. Indeed, the specifications of the three
year old Sharp 903 are still competitive today. You
could say that Sharp were ahead of their time, and that
perhaps was part of the problem.. the 902 and 903 were
3G trailblazers at a time when consumers were simply
not interested in 3G devices.
So, instead of producing high-end phones, Sharp started
to come up with cheaper handsets like the GX25.
These sold moderately well, but there isn't much profit
in this kind of phone. The issue was compounded when
Vodafone sold off its Japanese operation to SoftBank,
which effectively stopped the flow of Japanese handsets
into Vodafone's line-up.
As a result, the Sharp SX862 is a rare thing
- an advanced Sharp phone that is being sold in markets
other than Japan. Admittedly, the SX862 is only available
in Hong Kong, although the closely related WX-T92 is
available in Taiwan and both these phones are based
on the Japanese Sharp 920SH. So even if the SX862 is
never officially sold outside of Hong Kong, it might
still be possible for Sharp fans to get their hands
on one.
What
makes the Sharp GX862 special is the display - this
is a rotating 3.2" panel with a very impressive
854 x 480 pixel resolution. That's a smaller screen
than the 3.5" on the iPhone 3G, and much smaller
than the 4" display on the Nokia E90, but it is
much higher resolution. This means that the Sharp SX862
can display web pages pretty much the same way that
they would appear on a PC, and it can also effectively
play back widescreen video. The screen uses elements
from Sharp's Aquos display technology to ensure
high contrast ratios and good colour reproduction..
of course, flat panel technologies are something that
Sharp is very, very good at. There's a tiny 60 x 32
pixel display on the outside too.
On the back of the SX862 is a 3.2 megapixel camera
with autofocus, multishot capabilities and a high-intensity
LED flash. SmarTone (who are selling the SX862 in Hong
Kong) say that the camera quality is so good that it
"will better even most 5 megapixel cameras".
Video capture resolution is 640 x 480 pixels (VGA resolution),
although the frame rate is not specified. The SX862
also supports video calling through a secondary camera.
As you would expect, there is a multimedia player
that can play back audio tracks and also VGA resolution
video at 30 frames per second. Internal storage is just
50MB, but this is expandable using microSD cards up
to 2GB.
This is an HSDPA device capable of high-speed downloads
of up to 3.6 Mbps, it also comes with USB, Bluetooth
and infra-red connectivity. At its heart, this us a
UMTS 2100 MHz device with GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900. Physically
the SX862 is quite a large device at 111 x 50 x 18mm
and 120 grams in weight. Talktime is around 3 hours
20 minutes with up to 14 days standby time.
Despite the impressive specifications, this isn't
really a Nokia
N95 beater. The Sharp GX862 lacks GPS, WiFi or an
FM radio. Also, the large display isn't touch sensitive,
and because the SX862 isn't a smartphone then software
options are limited. Still, this is a very impressive
device. MobileBurn have a comprehensive
review of the GX862, so you can judge for yourself.
SmarTone-Vodafone are selling the SX862 for HK$5680
(approx £360 or €450) SIM Free, or HK$3280 with
an 18 month contract.
Because this is being sold through Vodafone's Hong
Kong affiliate, it is just possible that Vodafone might
choose to sell this or some other high-end Sharp devices
in other markets at some time in the future. Come on
Vodafone.. perhaps Europe is looking for a Japanese
antidote to all the iPhone wannabees!
|
Sharp
SX862 at a glance
|
Available:
|
Now
|
Network:
|
GSM
900 / 1800 / 1900 + UMTS
2100
|
Data:
|
GPRS
+ UMTS + HSDPA
|
Screen:
|
854
x 480 pixels
|
Camera:
|
3.2
megapixels
|
Size:
|
Large
clamshell 111 x 50 x
18mm/ 120 grams
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
|
Memory
card:
|
microSD
|
Infra-red:
|
Yes
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Yes
|
GPS:
|
No
|
Battery
life:
|
3 hours talk / 14 days standby
|
|
|