Vodafone's 703SH and 903SH

Vodafone Japan scooped up a couple of slick new 3G handsets from Sharp, the 703SH (pictured above), a lightweight 1.3 megapixel cameraphone with a QVGA, 320 x 240 pixel LCD screen and Bluetooth (which is still sort of rare in Japanese phones); and the 903SH (pictured below), a 3.2 megapixel cameraphone with a 2x optical zoom lens, autofocus, 3D Surround Stereo Side Speakers (which we're sure sound awesome), and swiveling 2.4-inch LCD screen. Both should be out sometime around the middle of next month.

[Thanks, icebin]

Ok, maybe the red in the red-colored version of the 903SH is a little intense

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

I'd take the red one in a heartbeat...nobody puts out red phones (as far as i can remember) and teh camera on that thing sounds pretty good...and im in the market for a new phone anyway...

[midget @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

I kinda like the red, but what's with the disney logo in the first one?

[Ricardo Chavarria @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

I like the orange one...if only the 3.2Mpix version came in that color...Damn it, 2 months with my s710a and now everybody comes out with newer, better phones :S

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

Disney has content agreements with a few Japanese carriers, including KDDI.

[humberto @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

I wonder if Sharp or Casio have considered converting their WCDMA phones to GSM. This way they could target these phones to the gadget obsessed, and we could get some sweet cell phone tech in the process. It seems to me that manufacturers don't try as hard to please in the US as they do in Japan. If the T-Mobile/Vodafone US buyout rumors pan out, I would hope to see an influx of genuinely cool phones from Europe or Japan.

[902SH guy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

humberto, the Sharp W-CDMA phones are GSM compatible. W-CDMA is 3G for GSM. I have been using an unlocked 902SH in Canada for the last 2 months. If they can unlock the 703SH, that would be the perfect phone for my wife.

[altgenetics @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

Interesting stuff, being one of those gadget obsesed will be fun while I'm there for the year! Now have more choices for my phone, cause I'll be there for the year and will have to purchase one. Anyone know which bluetooth headsets work with japanese phones? Because some of the sets I've been looking at only work with certain phones, and well none of them are form NTT, KDDI, or Vodaphone.

[902SH guy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

altgenetics, I have been using my Sony Ericsson HBH-602 with my 902SH. Works fine. I paired my old Jabra BT200 (no handsfree profile) and that worked too.

[diulei @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

One thing I find interesting about Japanese phones vs. American phones is their sizes. Japanese phones are pretty damn huge compared to their American counterparts (opposite of nearly everything else - cars, food, houses). In a country obsessed with all things big and such (read: SUVs and trucks), the phones are pretty tiny. I myself prefer the Japanese phones because of the larger screens. Otherwise I suppose smaller phones are easier to carry.

[TSW @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

Kinda reminds me of the motorola v690.

[tuig @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

I've got the 902SH (GSM/UMTS version) for half a year now. I like it a lot, but I hope they fixed some things:
- Better Outlook syncing
- Lens cover
- SD is great - affordable storage for mp3's - but it screws up the file system sometimes, loosing all data
- If somebody calls when you're listening to music, the music pauses. If you finish your call, it does not resume and forces you to go back into the menu to resume your music
- I hope the camera is better in low-light conditions

Anyway, Sharp build quality is excellent, screen gorgeous and features unparalleled. If they improve the issues above it seems like a winner to me!

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

"One thing I find interesting about Japanese phones vs. American phones is their sizes. Japanese phones are pretty damn huge compared to their American counterparts"

It didn't used to be that way - Japanese phones used to be tiny, like most electronics there. At some point they decided they liked features more than small size, and the phones started bulking up.

They *do* still follow a coherent design aesthetic, though. They're not just big, ugly, bulky phones. They still look sleek and modern, unlike a lot of "small" phones in this country, a lot of which manage to look bigger than they are (all sorts of bulges all over the place) and cheaply made at the same time.

Somewhat related to this, there's an article in the International Herald Tribune (yes, this is a real paper) today about how Motorola and Nokia have been trying to sell phones in Japan lately and they have been getting pounded out of the market. They're just having no success at all. The reason, supposedly, is that their "high-end" phones aren't even close to mid-range in Japan - they're just not very good compared to most Japanese phones, and consumers won't buy them even though they're priced lower than most phones there. The Japanese are used to QVGA and 2megapixel cameras in their phones these days, not to mention bluetooth and other whatnot.

[Samuel Lago @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

Whenever Sharp is mentioned in the same sentence as mobile phone I instantly think 3D screen - so when do we get them, in Japan they've been kicking about for ages.

The technology must have settled by now, although I read something about a superior 3D screen by someone else

[diulei @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

"The Japanese are used to QVGA and 2megapixel cameras in their phones these days, not to mention bluetooth and other whatnot."

Actually, not that many phones have bluetooth (just as the article sad), which I find strange. I think bluetooth is great.

And yes, I've checked out some of the motorola's and nokias here in Tokyo. To be blunt, they plainly suck compared to the rest of the phones here.

[Simon Tregidgo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

got the sharp 903 yesterday, its absolutely awesome, but finding info online about it is nigh on impossible - not even Sharp's own website admit it (or the vodafone online store). got mine from vodafone highstreet store here in uk for free on a �60, 18 month contract. its only �30 for first 6 months, n then i can change the contract to something cheaper - important thing was phone for free - the things worth �600!

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

I have a few questions about his phone
1.Will this phone ever be available in the U.S.?
2.Where can i get an unlocked version?
3.would it work on t mobiles network?

[Simbo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

Mine is coming on monday, cost 150pound as an upgrade but my monthly tariff is only 30 and the contract is only extended 12 months.

[kristoffer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

I just bought on of these. How do I get my MP3s do play in the phone?
I have bought a SD-card to go with it.

[kristoffer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

I just bought on of these. How do I get my MP3s do play in the phone?
I have bought a SD-card to go with it.

[Emma @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM]

Josh, you said you live in Canada and this phone works fine for you!? I've been DYING for a Japanese phone (namely the P901is) but I don't think it's possible. I hope you can respond. Could you tell me if you had to unlock it, if you have any problems whatsoever...Basically, throw at me all the specs of the phone...Thank you so much.