SH-06D
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NTT, Sharp, Gainax make a Japan-only Neon Genesis Evangelion phone, get your plane tickets now
If someone offered you the chance to buy a Neon Genesis Evangelion NERV-branded phone, you'd jump at it right? After all, there's nothing better than pretending you live under constant threat of alien attack, or that the teenage clone of your dead mother could turn into a giant and... moving on. Sharp, NTT DoCoMo and Gainax teamed up to produce this SH-O6D with a custom case, new hardware buttons and a (as yet unfinished) skinned version of Gingerbread that resembles the readouts you're likely to see in the depths of Tokyo-3. See America? This is how you appeal to fans, by making the tiniest amount of extra effort, rather than just slapping a logo on the bottom of whatever regular handset you're selling.
Sharp AQUOS SH-06D arrives from Japan, we go hands-on (video)
Sharp's AQUOS SH-06D will most probably never leave the Land of The Rising Sun. That doesn't stop us, however, from lusting after its 4.5-inch screen. This 720p display also manages 3D, spread across a slinky 10mm frame that houses NTT DoCoMo's recently launched NOTTV streaming broadcast system. The device arrives in pink, white and blue options -- all provided with a matching dock and built-in aerial. Like several eastern phones with the ability to tune into live TV broadcasts, the AQUOS SH-06D also totes its own extendable antenna built into the side. The device itself, despite its largely plastic build, felt solid in our hand, although the minuscule power and volume buttons proved difficult to manipulate at times. The screen technology is still a closely guarded secret, but it aims to bring both 3D functionality alongside a crisp HD display performance during two-dimensional antics. Viewing angles are great -- a welcome trend we've seen on plenty of handsets at this year's MWC -- but the heavily customized Android 2.3 skin took away some of that sheen. Applications are stowed away into several drop-down menus that took some getting used to -- regardless of any language barrier. Sharp hasn't revealed any plans to join its Japanese competitors in the frenzied global smartphone market, but some import options wouldn't go amiss. See why in our hands-on right after the break. Sean Cooper contributed to this report %Gallery-149082%
