Sharp's new bezel-less smartphone will land in US thanks to Sprint

It's been a long, long time since Sharp shipped a phone in the United States (remember this thing?) but it looks like that drought may soon be over. The Japanese electronics giant just pulled back the curtain on a pair of smartphones that barely have bezels, and one of them is slated to land here sooner or later. Sharp's Aquos Crystal X is the more impressive of the two -- aside from the fact that there's hardly any material running around its 5.5-inch 1080p display, there's a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 ticking away inside its 10mm thick chassis. Alas, it's the less-powerful Aquos Crystal that's expected find its way stateside. There still aren't any bezels to speak of, but it packs a comparatively paltry 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 and a 5-inch 720p display -- expect the price tag to reflect those decidedly mid-range ambitions.

It's surprising enough to see Sharp gearing up to re-enter the crowded US smartphone market, but what's really surprising is that we're not getting some random one-off gadget like the Sharp FX this time. It may not be the most impressive of the two, but the Aquos Crystal still seems like an interesting choice for a company that hasn't always put its best foot forward around these parts. Sprint hasn't officially confirmed it'll offer the Crystal, but it looks an awful lot like a lock at this point. Case in point: the carrier is holding a press conference in New York tomorrow night, and its invitation is rife with crystalline symbolism and a tag line that jibes with the Aquos' bezel-less screen.