Posts Tagged ‘Sharp’

Sharps 945SH Aquos Shot clamshell phone made an appearance on the FCC today.  The device rocks an impressive 12.1 MP camera, along with a 3.2” VGA screen, digital TV tuner, WiFi, Bluetooth and HDMI out.  Oh, and did we mention the 945SH is waterproof too?

Sadly, you won’t be able to get your hands on this device unless you live in Japan.  With support for the PCS 1900 frequency, there’s little chance that the 945SH will make its way to the States anytime soon.

Earlier this month we spotted Microsoft’s first mobile phone, the PB10ZU aka Turtle on the FCC.  Sharp Corporation, which manufacturers devices for Microsoft’s Danger subsidiary, was responsible for the PB10ZU, as well.

The first images of the PB10ZU were leaked last year, along with another device codenamed ‘Pure.’  Interestingly, Sharp’s filings for the PB10ZU also mentioned another device called the PB20ZU (below, left).  This note made it clear that the PB10ZU is the Turtle and the PB20ZU is the Pure.

Today, the PB20ZU made it’s first appearance on the FCC.  Unlike the PB10ZU, the PB20ZU has a more traditional smartphone design with a rectangular form factor and a sliding QWERTY keypad.  The PB20ZU is a 835/1900 CDMA device with EVDO 3G.  The device also features Bluetooth and 802.11 b/g wireless.

FCC filings don’t reveal much else about the PB20ZU.  Neither is any timeframe for release mentioned.  We originally suspected that the PB10ZU and the PB20ZU would be unveiled at MWC, however at this point we have no idea when Microsoft will officially announce these two devices.

Renders of Microsoft’s Turtle and Pure phones emerged in September, and as MWC approaches we’ve been waiting for more leaks.  It appears that we may have found one today with Sharp’s PB10ZU device that just passed through the FCC.

The PB10ZU is described as a dual-band CDMA slider with Bluetooth and WLAN.  But we get the goods from label pics of the device, which show a form factor very similar to renders of the Microsoft Turtle.

Sharp is the manufacturer of the Sidekick phone that was developed by Microsoft’s subsidiary Danger.  So, it makes sense that Sharp would also be responsible for upcoming devices from Microsoft.

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more, but for now we’re pretty sure that the Turtle has made its first appearance on the FCC.

Update:  We’ve taken a closer look at images of the Turtle (thanks to Gizmodo for those) and the Sharp PB10ZU, and highlighted some of the common elements, below.  The location of the headset jack (highlighted in orange) and camera (purple) on the Sharp PB10ZU and the Microsoft Turtle are, as far as we can tell, the same on both devices.  There is also an unidentified port that appears on the top left of both devices (green).

At this point, it’s pretty clear that the Sharp PB10ZU is the Microsoft Turtle.  We’ll likely learn more on February 15th when Mobile World Congress kicks off.

The Sharp STX-2 pictured above passed through the FCC yesterday.  The device sports 850/1900 GSM and WCDMA bands, which corresponds to AT&T’s service in the US.

Test reports for the device confirm that the STX-2 has Bluetooth and a slider design.  Enlargements of test photos show that the sliding mechanism on the STX-2’s screen pushes the device’s screen up.  This reminds us of Sharp’s SideKick, however so far the SideKick hasn’t been offered by AT&T, so this may be a new product by Sharp altogether.

This camera phone from Sharp made an appearance on the FCC today.  Known as the 943SH, the device rocks an 8.0 MP CCD camera, and what appears to be an LED flash.  Other features include Bluetooth and WiFi, and what is probably a proprietary Sharp OS.

The device features dual band WCDMA and 900/1800/1900 GSM, meaning we probably won’t see it in the States.

This isn’t even the most impressive device offered by Sharp – the company has some 12 MP cameras in its lineup in Japan.  It’s a pity that these devices never seem to make it to the US.

Remember those Sharp camera phones that have passed through the FCC in recent weeks?  Well, today Japanese wireless carrier SoftBank unveiled their Winter 2009-Spring 2010 catalog that contains a number of these impressive camera phones (From Engadget).

I love how Japanese carriers introduce a ton of phones at once – it allows customers to pick and choose from a full lineup, rather than having to ‘wait and see’ for the next new device.  But it is a bit sad to known that few, if any of these devices will make their way to the US.