It’s what Pocketables calls a “much-needed and highly refreshing addition to the market.” Sounds good to me. This is the Sharp IS01, complete with a 1GHz Snapdragon inside, clamshell housing, and a 3G connection (as long as you’re inside Japan.) It’s got Wifi capabilities, a unique size and form, and costs less than $250 USD if you buy it from Conics. Jenn K. Lee presents a lovely unboxing of this diamond in the rough (maybe!)

Inside the box there’s a microUSB cable, user guide and paperwork in Japanese, 4GB microSD card (the device having 3.4GB internal storage,) and microUSB adapter for use with an optional AC power plug. The casing has a fun (weird? terrible?) pebble plastic texture to it (at least on the black version, there’s also a white and sky blue version.) The microUSB and headset ports have removable covers, and there is NO standard 3.5mm headphone jack. Charging is indicated by a light in the middle of the top of the lid, and the battery is a 1400mAh, supposedly able to play video for 4 hours.

The screen has two set positions, but can be moved and worked with at a variety of angles, one seemingly for desktop use, the other for holding up. This device has a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen and also has a keyboard, trackball, and buttons for navigating. Keys press evenly, but are very close together. The system that this machine comes with is Android 1.6 (Donut.) That might make you cry a little bit, as it’s slow, but if you’re not totally used to the newer systems, don’t worry about it.

Everything seems to work pretty well, and definitely seems to be a deal when considering how much it costs. Worth what you pay for it, perhaps even more. Take a peek at it.

[Via Pocketables]