The Manta 7X: Strange New Smartphone with Huge Battery & No Physical Buttons

[dgstorm]

It's hard to very many innovative ideas in smartphones these days. For the most part, OEMs are content to keep building the status quo with only a few tweaks here and there. Because of that, anytime we see something potentially different we just have to share it, even if it won't live up to expectations.

A new smartphone is available in international markets that definitely satisfies the "new idea" side of things. After hearing about it, we'll let you guys speculate on whether it will be worth more than that. It's called the Manta 7X, and its internal specs are nothing to write home about, although they area the "high-end" for the middle of last year. Despite that, there are some design choices which spark our interest.

One is that the device has been given a super-beefy 4200mAH battery. This is obviously something that more manufacturers need to start paying attention to, as improved/long battery life is easily the most sought after feature for many users.

There's something else which really makes this device stand out though, and that is that it has absolutely zero physical buttons. The only external break in its overall design comes from where you plug in the USB charger. Here's a quote with details on how the phone functions without physical buttons,

Now, about the point of controlling a device that has no hardware buttons – the Manta 7x sports touch sensors on its bezels and is loaded with a heavily customized version of Android 4.4 – a skin, dubbed "MO7 OS". From what we understand, once the user grabs the phone, the software will determine which bezel the user's thumb is on and will then display its different functions on that side of the display – for example, in the instance of an incoming call, the caller ID will display in a small, comfortable window, placed right next to where the user's thumb is touching the bezel. There is also a single capacitive button on the bottom of the device – acting as a home button, presumably, it also supports gestures for sleep, wake, volume up / down.

As you can see, even thought the value of this "feature" is basically just found in its aesthetic qualities, it's still a unique idea for a smartphone, and those are few and far between these days. The phone can be ordered in English for international markets, but will set you back a stout, $650 (4,080 Yuan). The reason that is a bit steep is because of those previously mentioned year-old specs. Here they are below:

• 5.5" Sharp-made display with a 1080p resolution, (401 PPI)
• 2.5 GHz, quad-core Snapdragon 801
• 2 GB of RAM
• 32 GB of internal storage
• IP 55 rating - resistant to water and dust,
• Both front and rear cam - 13 MP Sony IMX 214 sensor with optical image stabilization and super-wide angle (88°) and F/2.0 aperture
• The front camera is protected by a sapphire glass and has a dual-tone LED flash
• 4,200 mAh battery
• Android 4.4 – a skin, dubbed "MO7 OS"

In retrospect, those specs aren't too shabby. We included more images of the device in the thread below. What do you guys think of this unique creation?

We have several more images of the Manta 7X in the thread below.

 

[dgstorm]

Here are the first five images of the Manta 7X:

 

[dgstorm]

Here are the other five images of the Manta 7X:

 

[cr6]

That battery is a beast!

 

[FoxKat]

Interesting, sharp is producing in mass quantities I knew 5 inch 440 PPI display. I don't understand why this one only has four 401 PPI.

The specs are not all that bad but the price doesn't meet up with the specs. As far as the battery is concerned that's a good thing but what I am disturbed about it is the heavily customized OS. I wonder how much of that is bloat. It doesn't seem that there should be a tremendous amount of code necessary to move from physical buttons for those functions which other phone manufacturers have held out on and kept physical buttons for. Going to one capacitive button vs 3 is interesting, but of course again we have the option of on screen buttons for those functions.

Sent from my Droid Turbo on Tapatalk.

 

[Ollie]

The only thing that I see wrong with this phone is the price. It has a good screen, great battery, and a nice camera.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Interesting, sharp is producing in mass quantities I knew 5 inch 440 PPI display. I don't understand why this one only has four 401 PPI.

The specs are not all that bad but the price doesn't meet up with the specs. As far as the battery is concerned that's a good thing but what I am disturbed about it is the heavily customized OS. I wonder how much of that is bloat. It doesn't seem that there should be a tremendous amount of code necessary to move from physical buttons for those functions which other phone manufacturers have held out on and kept physical buttons for. Going to one capacitive button vs 3 is interesting, but of course again we have the option of on screen buttons for those functions.

Sent from my Droid Turbo on Tapatalk.

I would assume quite a bit of the customization are the software side of those sensors on the side and the resulting windows/info that come up right by your thumb.

Pretty cool concept. At least they're trying something we haven't seen before.

Doesn't look too bulky imo with that battery either from the renders and pictures where a hand is actually present.

 

[Ollie]

I wonder what is going on with that dongle and that odd charging cable in the last picture?

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I wonder what is going on with that dongle and that odd charging cable in the last picture?

I just assumed it was a proprietary adapter for a standard micro USB. But if you're going to go ahead and give the user a micro USB cable, why not make it a micro USB port?

Unless this is a workaround for the new standard where orientation of the plug doesn't matter...?

 

[kixfan]

Looks like it uses it's own special connector and can also use the standard android charger too like the Note 3. That battery has me intrigued. Wondering about that adapter looking thing too. Looks to be a way to hook up headphones but not really sure. Nice to see something different though.