Sharp keeps going with the Sidekick look, intros FX for AT&T

Sharp, you see, hasn't had much luck with its North American phone efforts as of late -- they've made almost all of the now-dead Sidekick series, and the Kin... well, you know how that ended up working out. So on that note, we seriously wish these guys the very best of luck with their first non-Sidekick, non-Kin entry in the US market in as long as we can remember: the FX for AT&T (which looks curiously like a Sidekick, actually). This puppy pairs a touchscreen with a QWERTY slide and just a 2 megapixel camera -- not particularly high-end -- but interestingly also features support for AT&T's FLO TV-based Mobile TV service, making it a nice upgrade for Quickfire users. It'll be available next Sunday, July 25 for $99.99 on contract after $50 mail-in rebate; in the meantime, follow the break for the full press release.

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AT&T Adds Sharp FX Quick Messaging Phone With AT&T Mobile TV to Device Lineup

New quick messaging phone the first from Sharp in AT&T portfolio

DALLAS, July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T* today announced the July 25 availability of Sharp FX™, the first quick messaging phone from Sharp on the AT&T network and the latest AT&T Mobile TV-capable device. The Sharp FX is being brought to market by Personal Communications Devices, LLC.

The Sharp FX has a full touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard for quick access to messaging, IM, email and social networking. The device also features an MP3 player, 2.0 megapixel digital camera with camcorder and Bluetooth® 2.1.

Other available features include:

* AT&T Address Book, which syncs contacts to an online address book so customers can access and manage their mobile contacts from their handset - or their PC. Synchronization occurs automatically when any change is made, so contact information is always backed up.
* The att.net mobile browser that supports full HTML surfing and also makes it easy for customers to customize their home page, navigate quickly to popular content and find local information.
* AT&T Navigator, which provides turn-by-turn directions, traffic alerts with one-touch rerouting, 3D moving maps, integrated speech recognition and more.**
* AT&T Social Net, which lets customers access multiple social networking sites from one application
* The ability to send photos and videos captured on their mobile phone to an Online Locker where customers can easily store, manage and share all their media.##


AT&T Mobile TV subscribers enjoy around-the-clock access to full-length live and time-shifted programming from FLO TV, including content from ABC Mobile, Adult Swim Mobile, CBS Mobile, CNBC, CNN Mobile, COMEDY CENTRAL, Disney Channel, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, msnbc, MTV, NBC 2Go, Nickelodeon and the movie channel Crackle. AT&T Mobile TV is available for $9.99 per month, and new subscribers receive the first seven days of their subscription for free. For more information, visit www.att.com/mobiletv.

The Sharp FX will be available at AT&T retail stores nationwide and online at www.wireless.att.com on July 25 for $99.99 (Pay $149.99 and after mail-in rebate receive $50 AT&T Promotion Card. Two year service agreement and a minimum $20 messaging or combination of messaging and data plans required. Sales tax calculated based on price of unactivated equipment.)

For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com

[Warzone Posted Jul 19th 2010 4:11PM]

Now I would like this if:

1. Why such a big bezel and small screen?...should max out screen size to the edge with the smallest possible bezel.
2. Needs to be Android
3. Needs to be something other than AT&T

[DDRobert Posted Jul 19th 2010 4:15PM]

they got rid of the sidekick for this?! What ever happened to "Project Emerald" the supposed HTC Sidekick HD

[Apocalyptic 0n3 Posted Jul 19th 2010 4:31PM]

I wouldn't go near anything that resembles the QuickFire with a 10 foot pole. That may have been the worst phone ever made.

[darthgault Posted Jul 19th 2010 4:31PM]

i dont know about anyone else but i am at the point where i think feature phones should just be free when you sign you life away. I am alone?

[compking Posted Jul 19th 2010 4:39PM]

Maybe if it had Android on it this phone would have a chance...
otherwise...
= FAIL

[compking Posted Jul 19th 2010 4:41PM]

I like how it's positioned as an upgrade for Quickfire users... as if Quickfire owners are rushing out of their house(s) to buy this latest and greatest POS (piece of shit) phone

[compking Posted Jul 19th 2010 4:43PM]

$99?... or 99 cents?... It's a shame considering that Sharp releases awesome phones in Japan and then America gets shit like this...

[maythetechbewithyou Posted Jul 19th 2010 4:48PM]

1. This phone appears to be a feature phone, something for teens/tweens. As such limited capabilities is good for parents, and the big bezel lessens the chance of, in the event of the teen/tween dropping the phone, the screen to which they need to look at has a smaller chance of being marred.

2. Looks like a strong device, easy to use and will hit the market it needs to.

[EagleyeSmith Posted Jul 19th 2010 5:13PM]

Yea, a phone for the teens, quickmessaging.

[JohnnyDanger79 Posted Jul 19th 2010 5:57PM]

This looks so much like the Quickfire. If it is anything like the Quickfire it should be avoided like the plague. It has to be one of the worst phones ever. My wife had one and we has 8 replacements and AT&T would not allow us to exchange it for a similar but different phone. Ive never used a phone that was so horrible.

[weinerschnitzelboy Posted Jul 19th 2010 5:58PM]

This doesn't look that bad. Sometimes you have to give it a chance before you can insult it. But I do think the icons are ugly.

[fiduce Posted Jul 19th 2010 8:24PM]

This design is a "hardware keyboard design" win !
- Embeed the best cameras using the thickness of the non sliding parts. Two "low res" (screen res) front facing 3D cameras (upper and lower side) and one high res back camera (upper side).
- Try Androïd ... no eFuse crap, no Blur, no Sense ... stock Androïd.
- Add a high resolution display (326 dpi for instance) with an X and Y parallax barrier (landscape and portrait parallaxing). Add some hardware stuff that makes it possible to display flat screens (4 subsampling). Try to get Androïd access your 3D hardware (cameras, display).
- No front branding (no logo).

Sent from my Sharp GX25 (waiting for its successor)

[jlmcdonald21 Posted Jul 19th 2010 11:16PM]

Hey, just think, they wouldn't be able to keep up with demand had this been released in 2003!

[palmsam Posted Jul 20th 2010 2:33AM]

One word, ugly!