Created: 15 July 2013 · Last edited: 14 September 2026

The smallest Japanese operator Willcom is back in the smartphone game with a new device by Sharp, the AQUOS PHONE es WX04SH. Willcom was the first Japanese carrier to release Windows Mobile devices back in 2005/2006. Even though Willcom was acquired by SoftBank in 2010, it still operates as a separate carrier, keeping the PHS network alive and releasing its own devices.

However, perhaps due to its very small market share, the AQUOS PHONE es WX04SH isn't anything impressive given the beefed-up monster phones ruling the Japanese market — it's more like a late 2011/early 2012 model.

The 4-inch screen has a FWVGA resolution of 854 × 480 px, the same as Sharp's now-dead traditional swivel-phones, a.k.a. the true keitai.

It is equipped with a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260A at 1.5 GHz, has 1 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of built-in memory, expandable using microSDHC cards.

The AQUOS PHONE es WX04SH comes with Android 4.1, a humble 4.9-megapixel main camera and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The main camera uses a back-illuminated CMOS sensor and can start up in just 0.4 seconds. It also has Wi-Fi b/g/n, Infrared, Bluetooth 3.0, Mobile Wallet, OneSeg digital TV, GPS and tethering — and is, of course, water- and dust-resistant.

The WX04SH works on both PHS (1900 MHz) and W-CDMA (900/1500/2100 MHz) networks. The phone can use both networks, with Willcom's PHS and SoftBank's 3G available on the same device.

This phone has a dedicated quick-launch button that can start the camera very quickly — in 0.4 seconds.

It is a rather compact phone — for those who don't necessarily want a huge screen slab — and measures 60 × 122 × 11.9 mm (excluding protrusions) and weighs just 120 grams.

The AQUOS PHONE es WX04SH is available in a huge palette of colours: red, navy-blue, aquamarine, pink, white and black.

A great thing about it is that there is no USB lid, allowing easy charging and plugging, yet the phone is water-resistant (and dust-proof). One of the weakest parts of Sharp smartphones is the USB lid that breaks very easily.

Like all SoftBank products, this one will also be SIM-locked, and due to its high market-specificity, unlocking attempts are not very likely.