Gadgetory

take a close look at the low to mid range in the US smartphone market and while you will find great value you probably won't find industrial design that's pushing any boundaries at least not at a competitive price point that's a status quo that Sprint and sharp aim to shake up with the Aqua Crystal announced just today in New York City I'm Michael Fisher with PocketNow and I just went hands-on with the Aqua crystal so join me for a quick look the Aqua crystal is well-named well at least when it comes to the crystal part its 5-inch display isn't anything crazy at 720p but it runs right to the edges of the phone coming closer to fulfilling the promise of the bezel less smart phone than any other handheld we've tested that sounds like it make the phone tough to handle but in practice at least for the few minutes we played with it it really doesn't there's a small chamfer on the edge of the display protection which further enhances the phone's futuristic appeal helping to make up for the fact that it's just plastic the components you'd usually expect to see at the top of the phone have been moved or redesigned the front-facing camera is mounted low on the chin alongside the microphone and the earpiece has been replaced with a direct wave receiver that vibrates the display to transmit sound about the only place the aqua crystal disappoints for me is around back where the black or white plastic around its 8 megapixel camera bears a dull dimpling and generic feel the phone is powered by a 1.2 gigahertz quad-core processor almost certainly a Snapdragon 400 with 16 gigs of storage expandable up to 128 additional gigs using microSD the juice to run it comes from a small 2040 milliamp hour battery and the software is close to stock Android 4.4.2 though there are some sharp value-adds like the swipe to screenshot gesture also Sprint has bundled the same clarify and live stage sound enhancements as found in its HTC One m8 Harman Kardon it which won't be too useful on the rear firing speakerphone but will come in handy when listening to discounted Spotify music over headphones which by the way won't be included in the box no matter who you buy the phone from considering the eye-catching nature of the smartphone maybe some of its shortcomings are surprising but the price brings everything into focus when it launches the oculus will retail for two $39.99 with no contract post paid $149 on prepaid boost or virgin or zero down and ten bucks a month on a sprint postpaid plan which also includes new incentives like bulk data discounts for families and a new subscription service called app Pass which offers premium content and special incentives and things like that it all adds up to some surprising value especially considering just how bold the design of this nearly edgeless device really is I'm really looking forward to reviewing the Aqua crystal once sprint offers up a review unit and we'll keep you posted on availability information as we get it in the meantime we'll just say that for the budget minded consumer Sprint and it's prepaid subsidiaries just got a bit more attractive thanks to sharp for more brand new device coverage delivered to your tubes everyday subscribe to pocket now on youtube visit us at pocketnow.com and follow us on social media till next time this has been michael fisher with pocket now captain to phones on twitter you stay sharp and we'll see you next time you