Japan's Sharp 507SH is the first water-resistant Android One phone

First introduced in 2014, Android One smartphones are usually made for emerging markets, being affordable devices that don't offer impressive features. As of this week, however, we can check out the very first Android One handset made for Japan, and the first to be manufactured by Sharp (we're talking about one and the same device, of course): the Sharp 507SH.

While it doesn't offer high-end features, the Sharp 507SH is notable for being dust- and water-resistant (IP58-certified), this making it unique among Android One devices. Sporting a 5-inch 720p display, the Sharp 507SH is certainly not a bad phone (for an Android One handset, that is), as it's powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor, further offering a 13 MP rear camera, 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of expandable storage space. There's a 3010 mAh battery inside the 507SH, and it's said that this can provide an impressive usage time of up to 3 days.

The Sharp 507SH runs stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and will receive software updates for at least 18 months after launch. Speaking of launch, the new handset will be available in Japan via Y! Mobile (one of SoftBank's sub-brands) starting later this month, in three color variants: black, white, and cyan. The phone's official price hasn't been announced, but it's believed to be between $100 and $200. At the moment, we don't know if the Sharp 507SH will be released in other markets. Would you buy one?


sources: Sharp, Y! Mobile, K-Tai Watch (translated)