Sharp Announces Bezel-less Aquos Crystal ($239)

Sharp recently announced the Aquos Crystal, a mid range smartphone with a bezel-less design on the top and sides of the display. The device will be launching with Sprint in the US for $239 USD off contract.

Specifications:

• 5.0 inch 1280 x 720 display
• Android 4.4.2
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8926)
• 1.5 GB RAM
• 8 GB internal storage
• microSD card slot (up to 128 GB)
• Rear 8 MP camera with flash
• Front 1.2 MP camera
• 4G LTE | BT 4.0 | WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• 2040 mAh Li-Ion battery
• 131 x 67 x 10 mm | 141 g

Sharp had also announced a 5.5 inch version, the Aquos Crystal X, with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801, a 1080p display and other improved specifications. The Aquos Crystal X measures in at 139 x 73 x 11 mm and has only been announced in Japan.

I saw this and found it interesting, but I'm not convinced that eliminating the bezel like this is advantageous from a user standpoint. Are there other design elements that make it more meaningful or is it simply for the aesthetics of the device?

I used to crave a bezel-free iPhone, but after utilizing the software design of iOS7, I'm not so sure it would be a good design.

@musicalmac: Eliminating the side bezel can allow the device to maintain a specific size, while utilizing a larger display.

Looking at the width of 3 devices with 5.5 inch displays:

• OnePlus One - 75.9 mm
• LG G3 - 74.6 mm
• Sharp Aquos Crystal X - 73 mm

Samsung's Galaxy S5 uses a 5.1 inch display and has a width of 72.5 mm.

Looking at the width of 3 devices with 5.0 inch displays:

• HTC One (M8) - 70.6 mm
• LG Nexus 5 - 69.2 mm
• Sharp Aquos Crystal - 67 mm

HTC's One (M7) uses a 4.7 inch display and has a width of of 68.2 mm.

@NVIDIATI: Right, I understand that it reduces the footprint. But in terms of usage, holding it and swiping across the screen and all that -- is there an advantage to the edge-to-edge design featured here? I'm not making any accusations either way, I'm just curious if they explained the value of it outside of aesthetics and the obvious reduction in footprint.

The device overall is a fairly modest one.

Most of the press is in Japanese, so I'm unsure at this point if anything further was discussed.

Bezel-less design has been feasible for the better part of the last half-decade. I suspect the designs inherent fragile nature is the reason why it's been avoided thus far.

I would not want to drop that thing and risk it landing on any of its corners. Even worse: How would you wrap it up in an adequate case without obscuring part of the display itself?

bad idea, they jumped the gun on this one. I'd only trust edge-to-edge displays if they were made from impenetrable glass

... or maybe your palm is going to hover over the touchscreen which could be annoying.