Just the Facts, Ma’am

“I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence Central for Sprint. I received a sample device to facilitate this review.”

Over the past year, I’ve had the exciting pleasure to review various phones and products courtesy of the Sprint Ambassador Program, and today marks the last of my ambassadorship. Which is a shame because I really liked telling people I’m an ambassador.

Nice to meet you! What do you do?

Oh, me? I’m a mom of three, a writer, and an ambassador. No big deal.

But alas, the time has come and I must take off my tiara and hang up my cape.

What do you mean ambassadors don’t wear tiaras and capes?!

 

In my previous reviews, I tried to bedazzle the details. I’ve written a poem about the Kyocera Hydro Vibe, regaled you with an anecdote of the time my brother almost lost his ever-loving mind when buying a new phone, and hosted a family dance party in honor of the HTC One Harman/Kardon edition. This time around, I started thinking about what I would want to read if I were in the market for a new phone. That’s when I realized straight facts would be clutch. So if you were hoping for a Haiku or song lyrics, I hope I don’t disappoint. Today, I’m serving up just the facts, ma’am.

Phone:

Sharp AQUOS Crystal smartphone

Fun Facts:

• Harman Kardon’s LiveStage™ provides a more lifelike headphone  listening experience by adding dimension to the sound
• Clari-Fi™ technology improves digital sound quality by restoring all types of compressed digital music
• Clip Now takes screenshots with one swipe and saves them with an embedded URL for easy sharing
• Dual Cameras: 8MP rear-facing camera with flash (3,264×2,448 photo resolution; 1080p@30FPS video resolution) and 1.2MP front-facing camera (1,280×960 photo resolution; 720p@30FPS video resolution)
• Advanced photo features such as night catch to brighten both subject and background for those tricky nighttime shots, sequential shots to catch rapid movements by using a simple button hold, and shutter detect makes it easy to capture unforgettable moments with your friends and family by automatically taking a photo when it detects a smile
• Google Play™ with more than 1 million apps, millions of songs and books, and thousands of movies
• App Pass – a U.S. Sprint exclusive subscription service that allows customers to access a hand-selected catalog of premium apps and games for one low monthly fee
• Stereo Bluetooth® (4.0 + LE) wireless technology support
• 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack

 

Tech Facts:

• Sprint Spark™, a unique combination of advanced network capabilities built for data delivering peak wireless speeds of  60Mbps today on capable devices
• Android™ 4.4.2, KitKat
• 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon® processor
• HD Voice, virtually eliminating background noise and sound quality is dramatically enhanced on a call between two Sprint HD Voice-enabled devices on upgraded areas of the Sprint network
• Wi-Fi Calling allows users to use their voice and messaging services over existing home, office and public Wi-Fi networks
• 3G/4G mobile hotspot capability supporting up to eight Wi-Fi®enabled devices simultaneously
• Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g/n)
• Google Mobile™ services including Google Play™, Google Search™, Google Maps™, Google Navigation™, Google Talk™, Google Calendar™, Google +™, Gmail™ and YouTube™
• OfficeSuite: Easily edit every Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint document using the AQUOS Crystal, so you can work on the go, whenever you might be
• Speaktoit Assistant: Speak to Assistant just like you’d talk to a person: update social media statuses, manage notes, search for interesting places and let Assistant get to know you to better anticipate what you’ll need

Plan Facts:

POSTPAID (Sprint)

Sprint’s Sprint Family Share Pack – a new shared-data plan that offers double the high-speed data at a lower price than AT&T and Verizon Wireless. For reals, my husband, brother, and I all have unlimited data plans and pay under $200 for the three of us. The Sprint Family Share Pack is a great deal and your bill won’t change one cent from month to month. Love me some Sprint.

NO CONTRACT

Virgin Mobile USA’s smartphones can be paired with Virgin Mobile USA’s Beyond Talk™ No Contract plans with unlimited data4, and available 4G LTE data speeds for mobile phone service, including Android™-powered smartphones. Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk monthly unlimited data and messaging plans, which start at $35, are ideal for those smartphone users hungry for the most connectivity and the least amount of voice minutes.

 

So there you have it. Just the facts. Let me know your thoughts on the Sharp AQUOS Crystal smartphone, and if you have any experience using it or one of Sprint’s plans, share your two cents in the comments!