Sharp SH631W smartphone review
For me as an outside observer, Sharp is mainly known for participating in the supply of displays for various flagships, including the fifth Applephone. Therefore, it was all the more interesting to get acquainted with the models of the company, when it turned out that Sharp is now beginning an international blitzkrieg with sales of its new products. And Russia turned out to be a country where overseas sales of Full HD Smartphone Aquos Phone SH930W start. Unfortunately, at the moment I have no opportunity to get this device, but Sharp SH631W, a curious representative of the segment of the current "average" smartphones, got into my hands.
In the domestic and not only the market until recently, unless the legends did not go about the Japanese phones. The Japanese really went their own way and in isolation in almost all important mobile moments like NFC, QR codes, cameras and 3G networks at least several years ahead of other countries. With the advent of Android and iPhone, local manufacturers did not lose their head and promptly took care of competitive offers. Yes, it is so progressive that, according to the results of the second quarter (according to the ComsCore report), in the top five manufacturers on smartphones in the hands of the population, neither Samsung, nor even Apple is visible. All five are purely Japanese companies. Sharp tops the rating with a share of 22.6%, ahead of Panasonic by 9%. I emphasize that neither Apple nor Samsung, like any other well-known manufacturer in the international context, even came close to Sharp's positions in this region.
The Japanese smartphone itself should show something different from the bored design of the A-brands that are common in Europe. In the case of the SH631W, the catchy appearance is fully present. If you google the images of the device, then you can meet his photo with naturally polished [sea?] Stones. These can be seen even in the wallpaper of the smartphone. So, when you take a model in your hand, you get the impression of just such a “pebble” smoothed around all edges. The upper and lower ends are slightly “tapering”, but you don’t hold on to them in any particular way. To a large extent, giving rounded shapes contributes to the fact that the surface of the screen is not at all at the level of the sides of the case - but slightly higher.
')
According to the materials, with the exception of the glass screen, there is a plastic of several textures. The back cover is made of a pleasant-looking and touch "semi-gloss" polycarbonate plastic of medium marcia. The upper and lower platforms of the smartphone are decorated with chrome inserts. They fit perfectly into the design and do not give the effect of a cheap device, to which often the use of such a “creative” leads.
By the quality of the assembly, the news is not very pleasant, the smartphone frankly squeaks. It is likely that this is a specific deficiency of the engineering sample that was tested. Perhaps the cause was not the most successful design of the cover. Here, "innovation" was manifested in the fact that Sharp abandoned the usual scheme "to pry with a fingernail-remove". Instead, you need to press the cover with your fingers and slide it up. However, due to the special features of the case, it is not so easy to do, the fingers simply slide. If it were not for a couple of these shortcomings, I would put a strong top five for the design of the smartphone. So - four with a slight plus.
Controls and connectors are not particularly surprised, all "like people". Volume control is located on the left, on / off is done by pressing the key on the top. Sharp did not become involved in experiments with the “recessed” keys, everything is pressed clearly and effortlessly. Headphone jack and headset is on top, bottom - the usual microUSB.
If you still make an effort and remove the cover, the battery and the slots for the SIM card and microSD memory card are found.
I would like to praise Sharp for the fact that in both cases you do not need to get the battery. Is that after installing the SIM card will need to restart the system.
If Sharp did not store an interesting screen, it would be unlikely that her model would represent something special and stand out among the competitors. But - the company installed a 4.5-inch matrix with qHD resolution, using Sharp Mobile technology. This is not to say that the display has a good margin of brightness. Say, on the middle position of the slider, you always want to add a little light. Colors, tones and shades are transmitted in a manner peculiar to IPS, without attempting to impose excessive juiciness.
Viewing angles make it comfortable for several people to look at the screen. If, however, deviate strongly from the center, a slight drop in brightness is noticeable. It resembles the effect of a transparent gray film. But there is an undeniable plus. Sharp Mobile technology involves a coating that does not diffuse, but fully reflects the rays of bright light. Therefore, in the sun, the SH631W did not work better than the “usual” mobile IPS screens. Pixel density is sufficient to not worry about grain.
No two Android smartphones pretending to buy today can do without two cameras, the SH631W is no exception. We have 0.3 megapixels of the front camera and 8 megapixels of the rear eye at our disposal. Proximity and light sensors are attached.
In the settings of the camera, I could not find any remarkable innovations, with us the standard features of Android 4.0. In principle, I do not see anything wrong with that - the set of options is wide, their management is conveniently organized. I don’t see much sense in flashing before a different look of the menu and a pair of chips of dubious utility from individual manufacturers. Is it possible that the possibility of superimposing 3D effects on the video right during the shooting seemed like something like curved mirrors. Another interesting point is the “background” tab that will allow you to replace the wallpaper on your phone with a live video.
What really liked it was the work of the focus. SH631W refers to those non-always-occurring smartphones that allow you to specify a point of focus by touching the desired area on the screen. Although without this, the optics is in an unobtrusive search and automatically searches for a new point of "support" with a significant change in angle. Photography speed is decent, so-called instant snapshots SH631W are quite capable.
Camera test results attached. Let's just say SH631W can make good shots. Moreover, there is no “webcam pixels” effect in the pictures. In many cases, looking at the monitor, you will not immediately say that the snapshot was received by the telephone, and not by a soap box. By the way, with the onset of winter, he noticed a curious feature - for some reason, the cameras incorrectly react to daylight with an abundance of snow. Both on the video and on the photo there is a significant darkening that does not correspond to the real light. And I found it not at all on budget devices. At SH631W, such “whims”, fortunately, were extremely rare.
Let's start by looking at the actual characteristics. Built smartphone based on the MediaTek MTK6577 chip. Very, very well familiar to Russians chipset. Our manufacturers in the past year paid him heightened attention. And, I think, deservedly so. The platform came out in the summer (that is, very fresh), has a wide range of supported options and, most importantly, is inexpensive. Specifically, in SH631W, the frequency of the dual-core processor is “locked” at 1 GHz. Just in case, let me remind you that the PowerKR SGX531 graphics chip is installed in the MTK 6577.
It seems strange to choose only 512 MB of RAM. I do not think that 1 GB would “inflate” the price tag, and in the conditions of the current loads the moment is extremely important. Conclusions for knowledgeable people are obvious - the “brakes” in the device will be absent to the maximum level of memory filling. One bulky game will go without brakes, but parallel loading of the browser, player, game and anything else will noticeably affect the "seamlessness" of the work. I would recommend to install a widget of used memory to avoid surprises.
Measurements of benchmarks in front of you, I do not think that it is possible to make any super discoveries by them.
According to Quadrant, modest graphics capabilities are observed, as well as the excellent performance of the processor. The comparison with the LG Optimus 2X on the Tegra 2 dual-core platform is particularly vivid. The contrast is obvious: as much as the SGX531 loses in the graphic part and compensates for it in processor performance as much.
Android 4.0.4 is installed on the smartphone, work is already underway to prepare an upgrade to the “sweet” version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Together with the screen and the memorable design of the smartphone, the software shell is one of its special aspects. Sharp is not something that fundamentally altered the UI of the system, but clearly stood out among the developers, whose shells essentially do not change the structure of Android. I am not too impressed by the “wrappers”, which are a set of more or less standard ideas and are convenient in trivial things that are not obvious at first glance. In SH631W, right from the first screen, you can see that Sharp didn’t stand on ceremony and be careful. Our company means its own, the company thought and issued the Feel UX interface to our court. I will say that not everyone will like it. But here the company shows an enviable openness and democracy - you can just go to the settings, section "Display" and disable the fruits of the works of Sharp.
So let's get down to our interface. First of all, we meet the lock screen, on which there was a lot of remarkable. Conventionally, it is divided into three zones. The largest is located on top and given the wallpaper. Pictures are not static at all, you can change an image per second by flipping to the right / left. Below is a field of hours, calendar and call notifications, SMS and e-mail. Between the above pair of zones is a non-trivial hidden panel of quick access to functions. It is necessary to raise the lock and transfer it to the camera, call or SMS icon. The panel will definitely not be priced when Sharp also allows it to be customized.
The lower part of the block screen scrolls, displaying reports from various exchanges in real time. I find it hard to believe that among the buyers of the SH631W smartphone this option will be really useful to many. Well, okay, this is a matter of taste. But turning to the system settings of the display, you can find many items in them to give individuality to a sample of the output information.
The "main" space of the system also turned out to be unusual. There are no desktops in the usual sense, instead three tabs: programs, widgets and shortcuts. And if we are accustomed to bringing to the foreground a site with folders and labels, then in Feel UX this place is given to the full list of system components. And no dilution widgets, they are installed in a strictly vertical list separately. When you are at the very top of any section, an additional sliding touch down displays the search column and settings items along with adding shortcuts and widgets. I repeat, let everyone decide for himself how successful Sharp's approach was or not. The title of the original, he definitely deserves.
For additional programs in the presence of an organic minimum: notes, file manager and system backup. The interface of SMS, phone book and calls is left untouched, so I see no reason to focus on them. Regarding directly the telephone functions - the interlocutor is heard well, the sound of the ringtone is loud enough to hear it in the “urban”.
The capacity of 1 650 mAh is such a “battery-like” smartphone resource. The indicator in absolute consideration is not outstanding, but adjusted for the actual needs of the model's performance is acceptable. Specifically, I did not conduct the maximum duration of certain operations, relied solely on the everyday experience. That is, the mode calls - games - 3G - Wi-Fi - video - music. Abuse of wireless access to online, along with the games, discharges the phone in a day, while for half an hour both items allow us to count on two days of work every day.
Sharp enters the Russian market not with one, but with four models at once: the considered SH631W, as well as the SH530U, SH837W and Full HD flagship Aquos Phone
SH930W. Here are their comparative characteristics:
UPD: As it turned out, the price data in the table is somewhat outdated 8 /
Since the beginning of sales, the price has decreased, now it is approx. 9 990 rubles.
I liked the Sharp SH631W with an interesting, “charismatic” design. Anyway, if you don’t like the looks of Samsung or HTC smartphones, you should definitely take a closer look at the SH631W. The screen, despite the average maximum brightness, did not disappoint - technology Sharp. And tactile, and "by eye" display left a positive impression.
Of the obvious weak points - not the most ideal assembly, the method of removing the cover with the prefix "anti-convenient" and, let's say, the average performance. I will definitely not write “Sharp” into the advantages of the Sharp software shell. On a personal level, the fruit of the company's work is extremely cute to me. Visible style, the desire to give the system the gloss and elegance. It is possible that those available on Google Play for free are more functional, but somehow I don’t remember any special emotions when using them.
The model will cost approximately13 990 rubles 9 990 rubles. For the same price, for example, HTC Windows Phone 8S and HTC Desire X are sold. With similar characteristics, at least in terms of screen resolution, processor and RAM and battery. But the 8-megapixel camera can not boast. From the point of view of the impulsive buying, “came-saw-bought” from SH631W also seems to have good potential, aided by factors from the first paragraph of this chapter. However, I do not claim the only correct opinion. Therefore, if you are aware of more competitive devices, or you see significant shortcomings in the SH631W, share information in the comments.
In the domestic and not only the market until recently, unless the legends did not go about the Japanese phones. The Japanese really went their own way and in isolation in almost all important mobile moments like NFC, QR codes, cameras and 3G networks at least several years ahead of other countries. With the advent of Android and iPhone, local manufacturers did not lose their head and promptly took care of competitive offers. Yes, it is so progressive that, according to the results of the second quarter (according to the ComsCore report), in the top five manufacturers on smartphones in the hands of the population, neither Samsung, nor even Apple is visible. All five are purely Japanese companies. Sharp tops the rating with a share of 22.6%, ahead of Panasonic by 9%. I emphasize that neither Apple nor Samsung, like any other well-known manufacturer in the international context, even came close to Sharp's positions in this region.
Design and body
The Japanese smartphone itself should show something different from the bored design of the A-brands that are common in Europe. In the case of the SH631W, the catchy appearance is fully present. If you google the images of the device, then you can meet his photo with naturally polished [sea?] Stones. These can be seen even in the wallpaper of the smartphone. So, when you take a model in your hand, you get the impression of just such a “pebble” smoothed around all edges. The upper and lower ends are slightly “tapering”, but you don’t hold on to them in any particular way. To a large extent, giving rounded shapes contributes to the fact that the surface of the screen is not at all at the level of the sides of the case - but slightly higher.
')
According to the materials, with the exception of the glass screen, there is a plastic of several textures. The back cover is made of a pleasant-looking and touch "semi-gloss" polycarbonate plastic of medium marcia. The upper and lower platforms of the smartphone are decorated with chrome inserts. They fit perfectly into the design and do not give the effect of a cheap device, to which often the use of such a “creative” leads.
By the quality of the assembly, the news is not very pleasant, the smartphone frankly squeaks. It is likely that this is a specific deficiency of the engineering sample that was tested. Perhaps the cause was not the most successful design of the cover. Here, "innovation" was manifested in the fact that Sharp abandoned the usual scheme "to pry with a fingernail-remove". Instead, you need to press the cover with your fingers and slide it up. However, due to the special features of the case, it is not so easy to do, the fingers simply slide. If it were not for a couple of these shortcomings, I would put a strong top five for the design of the smartphone. So - four with a slight plus.
Controls and connectors are not particularly surprised, all "like people". Volume control is located on the left, on / off is done by pressing the key on the top. Sharp did not become involved in experiments with the “recessed” keys, everything is pressed clearly and effortlessly. Headphone jack and headset is on top, bottom - the usual microUSB.
If you still make an effort and remove the cover, the battery and the slots for the SIM card and microSD memory card are found.
I would like to praise Sharp for the fact that in both cases you do not need to get the battery. Is that after installing the SIM card will need to restart the system.
Display
If Sharp did not store an interesting screen, it would be unlikely that her model would represent something special and stand out among the competitors. But - the company installed a 4.5-inch matrix with qHD resolution, using Sharp Mobile technology. This is not to say that the display has a good margin of brightness. Say, on the middle position of the slider, you always want to add a little light. Colors, tones and shades are transmitted in a manner peculiar to IPS, without attempting to impose excessive juiciness.
Viewing angles make it comfortable for several people to look at the screen. If, however, deviate strongly from the center, a slight drop in brightness is noticeable. It resembles the effect of a transparent gray film. But there is an undeniable plus. Sharp Mobile technology involves a coating that does not diffuse, but fully reflects the rays of bright light. Therefore, in the sun, the SH631W did not work better than the “usual” mobile IPS screens. Pixel density is sufficient to not worry about grain.
Camera
No two Android smartphones pretending to buy today can do without two cameras, the SH631W is no exception. We have 0.3 megapixels of the front camera and 8 megapixels of the rear eye at our disposal. Proximity and light sensors are attached.
In the settings of the camera, I could not find any remarkable innovations, with us the standard features of Android 4.0. In principle, I do not see anything wrong with that - the set of options is wide, their management is conveniently organized. I don’t see much sense in flashing before a different look of the menu and a pair of chips of dubious utility from individual manufacturers. Is it possible that the possibility of superimposing 3D effects on the video right during the shooting seemed like something like curved mirrors. Another interesting point is the “background” tab that will allow you to replace the wallpaper on your phone with a live video.
What really liked it was the work of the focus. SH631W refers to those non-always-occurring smartphones that allow you to specify a point of focus by touching the desired area on the screen. Although without this, the optics is in an unobtrusive search and automatically searches for a new point of "support" with a significant change in angle. Photography speed is decent, so-called instant snapshots SH631W are quite capable.
Camera test results attached. Let's just say SH631W can make good shots. Moreover, there is no “webcam pixels” effect in the pictures. In many cases, looking at the monitor, you will not immediately say that the snapshot was received by the telephone, and not by a soap box. By the way, with the onset of winter, he noticed a curious feature - for some reason, the cameras incorrectly react to daylight with an abundance of snow. Both on the video and on the photo there is a significant darkening that does not correspond to the real light. And I found it not at all on budget devices. At SH631W, such “whims”, fortunately, were extremely rare.
Performance
Let's start by looking at the actual characteristics. Built smartphone based on the MediaTek MTK6577 chip. Very, very well familiar to Russians chipset. Our manufacturers in the past year paid him heightened attention. And, I think, deservedly so. The platform came out in the summer (that is, very fresh), has a wide range of supported options and, most importantly, is inexpensive. Specifically, in SH631W, the frequency of the dual-core processor is “locked” at 1 GHz. Just in case, let me remind you that the PowerKR SGX531 graphics chip is installed in the MTK 6577.
It seems strange to choose only 512 MB of RAM. I do not think that 1 GB would “inflate” the price tag, and in the conditions of the current loads the moment is extremely important. Conclusions for knowledgeable people are obvious - the “brakes” in the device will be absent to the maximum level of memory filling. One bulky game will go without brakes, but parallel loading of the browser, player, game and anything else will noticeably affect the "seamlessness" of the work. I would recommend to install a widget of used memory to avoid surprises.
Measurements of benchmarks in front of you, I do not think that it is possible to make any super discoveries by them.
According to Quadrant, modest graphics capabilities are observed, as well as the excellent performance of the processor. The comparison with the LG Optimus 2X on the Tegra 2 dual-core platform is particularly vivid. The contrast is obvious: as much as the SGX531 loses in the graphic part and compensates for it in processor performance as much.
Software component
Android 4.0.4 is installed on the smartphone, work is already underway to prepare an upgrade to the “sweet” version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Together with the screen and the memorable design of the smartphone, the software shell is one of its special aspects. Sharp is not something that fundamentally altered the UI of the system, but clearly stood out among the developers, whose shells essentially do not change the structure of Android. I am not too impressed by the “wrappers”, which are a set of more or less standard ideas and are convenient in trivial things that are not obvious at first glance. In SH631W, right from the first screen, you can see that Sharp didn’t stand on ceremony and be careful. Our company means its own, the company thought and issued the Feel UX interface to our court. I will say that not everyone will like it. But here the company shows an enviable openness and democracy - you can just go to the settings, section "Display" and disable the fruits of the works of Sharp.
So let's get down to our interface. First of all, we meet the lock screen, on which there was a lot of remarkable. Conventionally, it is divided into three zones. The largest is located on top and given the wallpaper. Pictures are not static at all, you can change an image per second by flipping to the right / left. Below is a field of hours, calendar and call notifications, SMS and e-mail. Between the above pair of zones is a non-trivial hidden panel of quick access to functions. It is necessary to raise the lock and transfer it to the camera, call or SMS icon. The panel will definitely not be priced when Sharp also allows it to be customized.
The lower part of the block screen scrolls, displaying reports from various exchanges in real time. I find it hard to believe that among the buyers of the SH631W smartphone this option will be really useful to many. Well, okay, this is a matter of taste. But turning to the system settings of the display, you can find many items in them to give individuality to a sample of the output information.
The "main" space of the system also turned out to be unusual. There are no desktops in the usual sense, instead three tabs: programs, widgets and shortcuts. And if we are accustomed to bringing to the foreground a site with folders and labels, then in Feel UX this place is given to the full list of system components. And no dilution widgets, they are installed in a strictly vertical list separately. When you are at the very top of any section, an additional sliding touch down displays the search column and settings items along with adding shortcuts and widgets. I repeat, let everyone decide for himself how successful Sharp's approach was or not. The title of the original, he definitely deserves.
For additional programs in the presence of an organic minimum: notes, file manager and system backup. The interface of SMS, phone book and calls is left untouched, so I see no reason to focus on them. Regarding directly the telephone functions - the interlocutor is heard well, the sound of the ringtone is loud enough to hear it in the “urban”.
Battery
The capacity of 1 650 mAh is such a “battery-like” smartphone resource. The indicator in absolute consideration is not outstanding, but adjusted for the actual needs of the model's performance is acceptable. Specifically, I did not conduct the maximum duration of certain operations, relied solely on the everyday experience. That is, the mode calls - games - 3G - Wi-Fi - video - music. Abuse of wireless access to online, along with the games, discharges the phone in a day, while for half an hour both items allow us to count on two days of work every day.
Specifications
Sharp enters the Russian market not with one, but with four models at once: the considered SH631W, as well as the SH530U, SH837W and Full HD flagship Aquos Phone
SH930W. Here are their comparative characteristics:
UPD: As it turned out, the price data in the table is somewhat outdated 8 /
Since the beginning of sales, the price has decreased, now it is approx. 9 990 rubles.
Conclusion
I liked the Sharp SH631W with an interesting, “charismatic” design. Anyway, if you don’t like the looks of Samsung or HTC smartphones, you should definitely take a closer look at the SH631W. The screen, despite the average maximum brightness, did not disappoint - technology Sharp. And tactile, and "by eye" display left a positive impression.
Of the obvious weak points - not the most ideal assembly, the method of removing the cover with the prefix "anti-convenient" and, let's say, the average performance. I will definitely not write “Sharp” into the advantages of the Sharp software shell. On a personal level, the fruit of the company's work is extremely cute to me. Visible style, the desire to give the system the gloss and elegance. It is possible that those available on Google Play for free are more functional, but somehow I don’t remember any special emotions when using them.
The model will cost approximately
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/170927/
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