Meet The World’s First Clamshell Android Phone

When it comes to Android devices, or smartphones in general, typically we don’t expect to see them come in clamshell form. In fact we expect large touch screens that stretch from corner to corner (although sometimes that’s not what we get).

Sharp went and did something unexpected which was to introduce the Android operating system into a clamshelled device, also known as the AQUOS PHONE THE HYBRID 007SH. On top of that it will be running Android’s latest operating system, Gingerbread 2.3.

Some of its other features are:

• 3.4-inch naked-eye 3D LCD touchscreen with 854×480 resolution
• 0.7-inch OLED sub-display
• 16MP CCD camera with 1,280×720 HD video recording support
• waterproof body
• IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0+EDR
• GPS
• digital TV tuner
• digital wallet function (Felica/RFID)
• infrared port
• Micro HDMI interface
• Blu-ray recorder connectivity
• microSD/SDHC slot (shipped with a 2GB card inside)
• W-CDMA, GSM
• size: 113×51.8×19.3mm, weight: 140g

This is quite the powerhouse of a phone, and not only that the keyboard can be flipped to the back, making it into a full touch screen device, or if you prefer the classics you can fold it back in to a regular looking clamshell phone. Pretty nifty huh? This device will only be available in Japan and be carried by Softbank starting from next month onwards. I wonder if phones this innovative will be making its way to the States any time soon?