Behold, the Sharp AQUOS 104SH, the world’s first smartphone to run Google’s next version of Android dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s launching in Japan on Softbank in “Spring of 2012”, meaning it might not be the first Ice Cream Sandwich device to hit the market, but hey, it’s at least the first one to officially be talked about in a press release. The 104SH packs a 4.5 inch display that does 1280 x 720 pixels, it sports a 1.5 GHz dual core Texas Instruments OMAP4460 processor, it can do HSPA+ up to 21 Mbps, it’s only 8.7 mm thick, and it’ll take 12 megapixel photos and capture 1080p video. Will we see this beast come out in America? Highly doubtful. Sharp’s Japanese smartphones usually never make it outside the land of the rising sun and that’s a real damn shame.
That being said, don’t be disappointed because next week Google and Samsung are going to hold a joint press conference where they’ll likely go through Ice Cream Sandwich in detail and announce the first smartphone that’ll be shipping with the OS onboard. It’s expected that said smartphone will be the Nexus Prime, and it’s going to pack a 720p resolution screen, stupid fast dual core processor, and according to recent rumors it might also be LTE capable, making the 104SH immediately that much less attractive. Let’s also not forget that Mobile World Congress, the mother of all mobile tradeshows, is due to take place in February 2012. We’ll likely hear about some amazing new Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones at that event as well, including the third generation Samsung Galaxy S!
So don’t be sad. Japan may get all the cool smartphones, but these days we’re starting to see some incredible devices in North America and Europe that only a few years ago seemed impossible to manufacture. Then there’s the next iPhone, due to be announced in less than 6 hours, but that’s a whole other discussion.