Sharp claimed a world’s first for Android on Friday with a clamshell phone. Superficially, the Aquos Hybrid 007SH resembles a classic Japanese keitai (cellphone) design with its long, rectangular flip design and dialpad but runs a full version of Android 2.3 and takes touch input through its 3.4-inch, 480×800 swiveling screen. The device has dedicated Android navigation buttons but follows many of the rules of feature phones with D-pad input and shortcuts, down to dial pad text entry if they like.
is also much more powerful than regular Japanese phones with a 1GHz, second-generation Snapdragon processor, a 16-megapixel rear camera, and a front camera for video chat. The display supports 3D and is backed up by a 1Seg over-the-air TV tuner that can also get 3D. Sharp promises relatively fast wireless with 14.4Mbps 3G, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 3.0.
Sharp ships the 007SH preloaded with both Dropbox cloud storage and Qik video chat apps as well as a 2GB microSD card.
Versions of the phone will come in black and white as well as more exotic colors such as Bordeaux and Misty Blue. SoftBank is releasing the 007SH in mid-June for Japan, but Sharp has signaled plans to sell the phone worldwide and may be one of the few to export keitai design outside of its home country.
