It was a simpler time in 2014- Apple hadn't 'reinvented' the phone yet, Facebook wasn't a full-blown monster selling our data to everyone (technically they were, but we didn't know about it), selfies were the rage and we were going nuts about flappy birds. While all this was happening, most of us missed out on Sharp, a relatively lesser-known name in the mobile arena, which launched what was probably the first all screen (almost!) no bezel smartphone, the Sharp Aquos Crystal.

In August 2014, Sharp Electronics Corporation, renowned for their display tech, was pumped out the world's first edgeless display smartphone. While most smartphone brands including Apple was tossing out chunky clamshell classics, Sharp took a bold move by redesigning the display. Intelligently, Sharp put the sensor, camera on the bottom. With Direct Wave Receiver, Sharp was able to turn the entire screen into a conductive earpiece.

But a whopping 78.5% screen-to-body ratio was the phone's only standout feature. It lagged in every other department. The specs of the phone were poor compared to the other phones in the market and it wasn't marketed as well as the other top brands in the market. Sharp adopted; it took feedback from the market and launched the Sharp Aquos Crystal 2 with better specifications and almost the same screen-to-body ratio. But with limited success in the international market, this one was a flop as well. And over time, competitors gradually increased their screen-to-body ratio and Sharp lost its edge. The phone perhaps didn't have enough power to keep up with our increasing multitasking demands, but it is certainly a trendsetter worth remembering.