In the Android One second innings, Google is aggressively launching new smartphones in collaboration with various smartphone brands. Sharp, a Japanese smartphone brand which is usually known for innovative smartphones has announced a new smartphone, namely, the Sharp S3 under the Android One program. The Sharp S3 is now official in Japan, and it comes with budget specifications such as Snapdragon 430 SoC, 3GB of RAM, and a Full HD display. But the highlights in the smartphone are the Android 8.0 Oreo OS, and it's also a rugged smartphone.
Sharp S3 Specifications and Features
The Sharp S3 succeeds the Sharp S2 smartphone, which incidentally was also the part of Android One project. As stated, the S3 is a rugged smartphone with IPX water resistant properties and IP6X dustproof properties. The smartphone is available in four colours options- Turquoise, Navy Black, White and Pink. The back panel of the smartphone just has Android One logo and Sharp logo at the bottom.
The sad part is the Sharp S3 lacks a fingerprint scanner, which is surprising in 2018. It flaunts a 5-inch IGZO display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels. At the heart of phone, there's a Snapdragon 430 SoC, which again disappoints as Qualcomm launched it more than two years ago.
The chipset is mated to 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The storage can be expanded up to 256GB with a microSD card. At the rear side, we have a 13MP camera paired with an LED flash, and at the front, we have a 5MP camera. Fuelling the entire smartphone is a 2700mAh battery, and it's coupled with Android 8.0 Oreo tweaks to deliver maximum battery life.
The Sharp S3 has support for 4G LTE and VoLTE with a promised talk time of 22 hours on LTE network and standby time of 605 hours. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, and USB Type-C port for data transfer and charging. There's a 3.5mm headphone jack as well.
Sharp S3 Availability and Pricing
The Sharp S3 will be available in the Japanese market for now, but the company may launch it in the Chinese market in the near future. Also, some rumours are suggesting Sharp's entry to the Indian market, but we have to wait and see. The smartphone is priced at 32,400 Yen, which translates to $300.
