Sharp Aquos Crystal: Top 3 Business Features

The Aquos Crystal is an extremely affordable smartphone. Credit: Sharp

Sharp's new Aquos Crystal might be the most attractive budget-priced smartphone around, thanks to its 5-inch, edge-to-edge display and sleek profile. Under the hood, the device includes mid-tier specifications that should prove speedy enough for everyday tasks, including a quad-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM. The Crystal also offers 8GB of onboard storage, with the option to insert a microSD card slot to expand the storage by up to 128GB. And it runs on the latest iteration of the Android operating system, version 4.2.2 — not always a given for phones this affordable. Get a hands-on look at the Aquos Cyrstal at our sister site Laptop Mag, or read on for three features that makes this phone good for business

Value

The Aquos Crystal is an affordable smartphone, making it a good pick for business users on a budget. You can pick it up via Sprint with a payment plan of $10 per month for 24 months, or go off-contract and buy the phone outright for $149 upfront via Virgin or Boost Mobile, with no need to agree to a pricey two-year contract. If that sounds like a lot to pay for a smartphone, consider that going off-contract can save you a lot of money in the long term; smaller carriers offer affordable monthly plans, especially compared to expensive, two-year commitments with Verizon and AT&T.

Design

Compared to most budget-priced phones, the Aquos Crystal is a real looker. The phone sports an eye-catching edge-to-edge screen, thanks to razor-thin bezels around the border that seem to disappear when the phone's display is turned on. That makes this a budget phone that business users can take seriously. The design is functional as well as attractive: The super-thin bezels allow the phone to be thinner, which makes it easier to grip in one hand.

Large display

The Aquos Crystal sports a large, 5-inch display, which is pretty uncommon in a smartphone at this price point. The extra screen space will give you more room for everyday tasks like managing your email inbox. The 720p screen produces decent pictures, though it's not as sharp as screens on flagship phones like Apple's iPhone 5s or Samsung's Galaxy S5.