Remember those rumors last year suggesting Yahoo! was hard at at work on an Android smartphone? Well, they’ve materialized in the form of the Sharp Aquos 009SH, better known as the Yahoo Aquos 009SH or Yahoo! Phone. As the first official smartphone released by the search giant, the device will debut on SoftBank in Japan.
It’s only fitting that SoftBank, the owner and operator of Yahoo! in Japan, launches the world’s first Yahoo! Phone in partnership with Sharp. So how exactly does the Yahoo Aquos 009SH differentiate itself from the hundreds of other Android smartphones on the market? It starts with 13 pre-installed applications from Yahoo! Japan covering everything from Yahoo! Calendar to Yahoo! Dictionary.
Features-wise the Yahoo! Phone runs Android Gingerbread and features a 4.0-inch 960×640 pixel display and an 8-megapixel camera. Yes, you read that correctly. The Sharp Aquos 009SH matches the resolution of the iPhone 4’s Retina Display — take that qHD! Other highlights include 3G data, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, microSDHC slot, digital TV tuner, e-wallet and infrared.
The Yahoo! Phone goes on sale next month in Japan. Two years of Yahoo! Premium Membership is included when purchased with a SoftBank contract.
Coming Soon | SoftBank | TBD
