Sharp Phones are back in Europe!

**martindesu** · 09-29-2011, 08:03 AM

Well, look what it is!

Shame it's not a flip, but 3D will surely be well-received in the UK...

http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/docs/news...29_480489.html

**cheeseus** · 09-29-2011, 08:19 AM

So, it's still associated with a particular provider, and that probably means the same type of locking as with DoCoMo. Great news though.

**qwerty1235** · 09-29-2011, 08:31 AM

The Orange branding ruins the aesthetics of the phone.

**aw614** · 09-29-2011, 10:02 AM

I HATE THAT ORANGE SQUARE

lol, its been that way for years with orange exterior branding, needs a docomo rear cover, Im guessing europe wont get different colors either

**Draexin** · 09-29-2011, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by aw614

I HATE THAT ORANGE SQUARE

lol, its been that way for years with orange exterior branding, needs a docomo rear cover, Im guessing europe wont get different colors either

Good guess!

The impress website states the following: "...some changes were made to suit the tastes of local users. For example, the body color will only be black"

I remember when I owned an Orange SPV M500, you could remove the logo by rubbing it away with a sugar cube.. but since that phone had a steel casing, it wouldn't scratch or damage it... It'd probably be easier to find SH-12C cover somewhere.

**MNX1024** · 09-29-2011, 04:26 PM

Awesome news!!! Hopefully it would some how have T-Mobile USA's 3G frequencies.

**Aya19th** · 09-29-2011, 05:04 PM

Orange simlock the phone just for 6 month. But you can buy it unlock too.
Sell in France the october 6th.

Sharp in EU so great but I think there will be never flip phone.

**CELL-P** · 09-30-2011, 02:53 AM

Originally Posted by Draexin

Good guess!

The impress website states the following: "...some changes were made to suit the tastes of local users. For example, the body color will only be black"

I remember when I owned an Orange SPV M500, you could remove the logo by rubbing it away with a sugar cube.. but since that phone had a steel casing, it wouldn't scratch or damage it... It'd probably be easier to find SH-12C cover somewhere.

:\ Ah, okay.

**eddieroolz** · 09-30-2011, 06:50 AM

Great news! I don't mind the orange square myself. Good to see Sharp getting back to worldwide sales.

**aw614** · 09-30-2011, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by eddieroolz

Great news! I don't mind the orange square myself. Good to see Sharp getting back to worldwide sales.

it looks worse than the vodafone logo on many of the older sony ericcson brikes, it was just there instead of saying O R A N G E lol

**martindesu** · 09-30-2011, 08:41 AM

Meh, get a sticker

Main thing is that it will be English localised and be factory unlocked if we want it to be. That is great news. Tempted to pick one up when I return to the UK at Christmas, but I might just see what Docomo release first

**yamanote** · 09-30-2011, 09:21 AM

Martin, the docomo version is already English localized and can be factory unlocked

What I can see is that the 1seg tuner and NFC's been removed, the Sharp logo takes the place of the NTT docomo logo, and, as an added bonus, you also get the hideous Orange cube on the back.
For those tradeoffs, you can have the interface in French (and warranty in the EU?).
Unless you're getting it on contract (or you really need French localization/warranty), the SH-12C looks to be a better phone, unless the Orange model is incredibly cheap or has some hidden spec boost that we don't know about.

Would a SH-12C back cover fit? If I remember correctly, the SH-12C's back cover was designed to fit the phone with the 1seg antenna on the side, so I think you'd be stuck with the Orange logo.

Here's another link originally posted by Patrix in another thread with a few more pictures and two promotional images:

http://www.frandroid.com/actualites-...-sous-android/

**Draexin** · 09-30-2011, 01:57 PM

You're right yamanote, comparing pictures of both phones reveals swapping covers won't be an option due to the lack of a 1 seg antenna...
Too bad though, else you'd also get the cool osaifu-keitai/nfc logo...

SH80F rear:
http://images.frandroid.com/wp-conte...0-12.13.25.png

SH-12C rear:
http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/...3D-Phone-3.jpg

**yamanote** · 09-30-2011, 02:18 PM

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Rubbing off the Orange logo might be possible, but the centered AQUOS PHONE text would leave a large gap to the left making the back look a bit weird.

Maybe they'll release an SIM-free model without any branding some time in the future? Here's hoping they port over one of their newer models too.