Full Review and Specification for the Sharp 880SH

It has been a while since Japanese manufacturer Sharp produced a mobile phone, so when the Sharp 880SH arrived on our desk we were a little unsure what to expect. Despite being readily available on Vodafone in other European countries, Vodafone UK has so far refused to take the handset. Surveying the spec sheet it looks to be a well-rounded phone and will therefore surely only be a matter of time before the UK operator does snap it up.

A slider phone with a jet-black glossy body with metallic trimming, at first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking that you were looking at a handset from one of the more renowned manufacturers such as Nokia or Samsung.

The first test with all slider phones is to see how secure it feels. While the sliding mechanism on the 880SH provides a satisfying clunk as you pop it back and forth, we're sad to say that the top half of the handset feels a little flimsy. We bet it wouldn't take too much for the phone to break apart.

Magnet to fingerprints

Now we know this is a common grievance at 3G, but handsets that are a magnet to grubby fingerprints can prove to be a real burden. Unfortunately the Sharp 880SH is one of the worst offenders. Both the screen and bodywork are smudge central and when we tried to wipe it clean we simply made the problem worse.

That said there's a lot that's good about the 880SH. While a tad on the chunky side, Sharp has managed to cram in a generous 2.2-inch screen that proves to be a real blessing when accessing the net or viewing videos. Beneath the screen there is an array of activity, button wise. With two soft keys, a navigation pad complete with centre key as well as call and reject buttons, there is also a useful multimedia key. Press this button when in idle mode and you'll be taken to something akin to a rainbow, which is actually a list of all your multimedia functions, including your music player, FM radio, Mobile TV and Radio DJ.

Frustratingly, when using the FM radio no other applications can be used, therefore if you wanted to use the camera for example, you would have to switch off the radio first. In addition, while the radio won't play when you're low on battery, we found that we received some static when we played the radio while charging the handset.

Radio DJ

Both Mobile TV and Radio DJ are subscription based services that cost according to what packages you go for and are dependent on some service providers. As with most things, the more you pay, the more you get. While Mobile TV allows you to gain access to various live TV from Sky Sports to news channels, Radio DJ is an interesting service that despite being available for over two years now, is still relatively unknown. Subscribe to the service and music will be streamed over the internet to your handset with the option of purchasing what you hear. The idea is that by rating what tracks you hear, after a time only tracks that fit in with your music tastes will be streamed to your device. It's a great idea in theory, though it may take some time for you to be completely happy with what is streamed to your phone. In the short time we had the phone we'd say we were receiving 50% of what we'd have to describe as ‘tosh'.

Speedy internet

HSDPA enabled, the Sharp 880SH is no slouch when it comes to perusing the internet. In the top-hand corner of the screen is a small icon indicating what speed of internet browsing is available. 3G indicates you're operating with 3G, where as when the symbol displays 3G+ you know that all your downloads and web browsing will be achieved that much quicker with HSDPA. It's a thoughtful little touch from Sharp and proves useful when you're wondering why it's taking that much longer to check the football scores than it did earlier in the day. We also found scrolling down web pages proved to be a juddery experience. Being a Vodafone exclusive handset, users have access to the operator's web portal Vodafone Live! which supports the likes of eBay and Google Maps.

Stay organised

Sharp has crammed a host of various PIM (personal information management) tools into the handset, which can be found under the Organiser and Utilities section of the menu. All the usual suspects are present - calendar, calculator, and to do list. There's also a useful expenses memo that allows you to record and categorise where your pennies are going. It's neatly laid out and easy to use, although if you lost your phone and that was the only log of records you had, you may find yourself in trouble with the old taxman. The voice recorder is another welcome addition, capturing some crisp clear sound. However, we did find it was almost a victim of its own success along with the conversation we wanted to record, as the handset picked up a large amount of background noise. Useful for a spot of espionage perhaps, not so if you're trying to hold an interview in a busy environment.

The 880SH is fitted with both an external and front-facing camera (allowing the option to make video calls). While the external two-megapixel camera is nothing more than average, the quality of the front-facing camera was wholly disappointing. We continuously found the image to be blurred even when the object we were photographing was stationary. The video camera also proved to be lacking. Presented with three recording modes; normal, fine and super-fine, the latter, while decent enough quality only allows a maximum of 30 seconds of recording time, while normal mode is little better at 60 seconds.

Overall

The Sharp 880SH is something of an enigma. It doesn't seem to know what it is. From afar the handset looks like the sort that would appeal to the fashion conscious. However, on closer inspection the handset is a bit too heavy to compete with the Armani and Prada's of this world, and the grubby smudge marks don't help either. Likewise, while its HSDPA capabilities and subsequent additional features such as Google Maps and Radio DJ means it borders on joining the high-end multi-tasking brigade, the disappointing two-megapixel camera means it ultimately falls short. As a result, while a competent  handset, it's difficult to see who would buy this phone, particularly as Sharp is not considered one of the bigger players.