W41SH from Sharp

With open arms we welcome Sharp to the fun that is KDDI's au; never before has there actually been a Sharp handset for the provider.

The W41SH focuses on design. The outside of the body has gone under some manufacturing process so that it actually has a kind of fabric, making your mobile phone "holding experience" completely different.

"EZ Keitai Arrange" allows all elements of the phone's interface -- icons, menus, background, animations, and so on -- to be changed in one go. There's also a "Task bar" button beneath the standard numpad, allowing users to summon forth the phone's "Task bar" function at virtually any time, giving them easy access to specific functions. Push the Task bar button again, and you'll be taken right back to the previous screen. Think of it as multitasking for your mobile phone.

It comes as no surprise Sharp has brought their glorious LCD technology along with them to au; the W41SH is equipped with a "Mobile ASV LCD," utilizing the same ASV technology that Sharp employs in their full-sized "AQUOS" line of LCD TVs. The main display is a 2.6" QVGA screen with a resolution of 240 x 400, and the subdisplay is 1.2" with 128 x 160 dots. Sharp is also using their "Veil View" technology for the phone, so that users can switch the LCD between a wide and narrow viewing angle. The latter would be useful when you want a degree of privacy while using your phone (perhaps in a crowded train, for example), as it will simply show one of four patterns to those viewing the screen at the wider viewing angles, rather than what is being displayed to the primary user.

Otherwise, you'll find the standard lineup of the fall/winter 2006 handsets: support for the new services, EZ Navi Walker, LISMO support, 2MP camera, and a miniSD (not microSD) card slot.



Inspired by:
http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/article/news_toppage/30731.html

Press Release (KDDI):
http://www.kddi.com/corporate/news_release/2006/0828/