Sharp is reported to have announced two new GSM clamshell phones for the Chinese market, namely the slim SH6010C and the SH1810C, which features an 8-megapixel camera. The announcement may come as a surprise for some, considering the fact that the company hasn't released a new GSM handset for quite some time.

The high-end Sharp SH1810C comes with an 8 MP CCD sensor, which is supposed to deliver lower noise levels, although it would need more power than a CMOS one, and a 3-inch TFT screen that is said to provide a WVGA resolution of 854x480 pixels. These two features are certainly meant to attract customers on the side of this impressive handset, which also features a flip design and a 6-axis accelerometer.

Furthermore, there is an external one-row display on this ordinary tri-band GSM with GPRS/EDGE support phone. The device allows users to make video recording at 30 fps, yet it does not feature 3G capabilities, which might not be too big of a problem, considering that China does not have a 3G network just yet.

The second device is the mid-range Sharp SH6010C, which comes in a stainless steel body and also features a camera, yet only a 3.2-megapixel one that goes hand in hand with its 2.6-inch TFT display capable of delivering a 400x240 pixel resolution and 262 000 colors. This slim phone is only 12.9mm thick.

A rather attractive feature of the SH6010C is a small external monochrome display that has been embedded on its back near the camera. According to the report, the phone will be available on the market in five colors, namely silver, gold, black, pink and blue.

No information on the availability or price tag of the two Sharp handsets has been unveiled so far.