Sharp launches the Serie SHL22 smartphone in Japan

The new Android device offers excellent features and very good battery life

Craig Munro, Published 07/10/2013

Sharp has been attracting a lot of attention in the past months with its ultra-high resolution IGZO LCD displays. A lot of manufacturers are making use of the new tech already and there are even rumors of Apple making the switch in their next generation of i-devices. Sharp, of course, also makes good use of the displays in their own range of products.

The newest addition to Sharp's AQUOS smartphone line is the Serie SHL22. The premium water and dust resistant device features a 4.9-inch 1280 × 720 IGZO LCD screen, a very impressive 13.1 MP back-facing camera with an F1.9 lens, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064T 1.7 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory, Android 4.2, and a microSD slot (up to 64 GB cards).

While the Serie is not particularly thin or light (it weighs about 5.5 ounces and is 0.4 inches thick), this makes room for a very large 3080 mAh battery. Sharp claims the SHL22 can offer up to 20 hours of talk time or 590 hours standby (with 4G LTE enabled).

The Serie SHL22 smartphone is available for pre-order now in Japan and will officially launch on July 12. Prices start at 68040 yen (US$679.65). No announcement has been made about possible availability in other regions.