Kyocera Echo Sports Two Displays, Hinged Design
Feb 7, 2011, 6:30 PM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Feb 7, 2011, 6:33 PM
Sprint and Kyocera today announced the Echo, a new Android 2.2 smartphone that has a unique, two-display design. The device has dual 3.5-inch displays that are attached to a pivoting hinge, allowing one display to be hidden behind the other or both displays placed next to one another. When together, the Echo offers a total screen size of 4.7 inches. The Echo runs in several modes of operation to take advantage of the screens' flexibility. In Single Screen Mode, the Echo operates like a normal Android smartphone. In Simul-Task Mode, the Echo can run two of the phone's seven main apps at the same time, one on each screen. In Optimized Mode, the Echo will use both displays for a single application, though some screen real estate will be spared for other functions. Last, Tablet Mode takes advantage of all the screen space for a single application spread across the entire 4.7-inch span. Kyocera and Sprint wrote an application called VueQue for the Echo, which lets users watch a YouTube video on one display, while browsing for and queueing up a second video in the other display. Other features include a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and 720p HD video capture; Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth 2.1 EDR; digital compass, accelerometer, proximity sensor, and light sensor; and a 1GHz processor, 1GB of on-board storage and expandable memory via microSD. The Echo can serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five other devices, though it is limited to 3G data speeds. It ships with two 1370mAh batteries, and a charger that can charge one battery while also charging the phone. Availability and price weren't provided.
Review: Kyocera Echo
Hands-On: Kyocera Echo
Kyocera Echo
Comments
I think it's great.
Honestly, what were you expecting? And furthermore, why are you assuming the phone will be junk just because it's a Kyocera? No their record's not the greatest, but they've surprised us before. Give it a chance. I for one think it's a stunning concept, and I'll reserve my judgment on whether or not the phone is worth it until I've had my own hands on it and seen it in action.
Yes.
This is definatly bet...
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Bittersweet
I am totally in love with the concept. Absolutely ground breaking. Multi-tasking to the next level. Two screens definitely better than one. Love how the second screen doubles as qwerty keyboard. Definitely an industry first and something I could transition to. Nothing like it.
Bitter:
I'm not a fan of the limited screen real estate with the size of the phone. If a phone is going to be this large, more screen and a little less hardware would be my preference. Battery life must be horrific. Limited functions for the simul- tasking seems to be a temporary drawback. Hopefully it will improve. Limited directed market. Not for everyone. Anything with hinges like this, is an accident waiting to happen. Lack of 4G was a disappointment, b...
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The reasons people think this will fail are all wrong....
...
Verizon's too expensive, AT&T drops calls and lacks capacity, T Mobile coverage sucks, IDEN is dead, Tracfone is a rip off, Metro PCS is only in a few cities, US Cellular's phones suck, WIMAX isn't LTE, GSM is bigger than CDMA, prepaid is for poor people, contracts are too restricting..... on and on it goes.
Different people want different things out of their phones and technology. Of all cell phones currently being used in the world, a fraction of 1% are any given model. It's a wide open field. All these diffenent technologies, carreirs, manufacturers, form factors exist for a reason. Not every person wants the same thing. (No Apple people, not everyone wou...
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I have had only minimal experiences with Kyocera. But the experiences I have had,...
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Thoughts on the Echo....
"1) Why no 4G?
a) It's called Network Vision. Sprint is breaking the country into thirds and having Samsung, Ericsson, and Alcatel Lucent rebuild our network from the ground up with new cell sites that contain a 4G basestation ("capable of being upgraded to future technologies via software")
b) So Sprint is currently rebuilding it's network while Clear is out of cash and struggling to sell spectrum to T-Mobile and at the same time Sprint has announced no new 4G products other than the MiFi. Even the WP7 device Sprint announced last fall that isn't out yet was 3G. Also, any one seen a road map for WiMax in 2011? Nope, me either, not even Clear has announced cities for 2011 yet both Verizon an...
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PRO TIP
So........
We shall see.
$
This is a trick, isn't it?
Please, someone at Sprint PLEASE kiss Steve's butt and get the iPhone on this network.
You have to be kidding... right?
Or the "return of beepers" someone said!
Android doesn't "truly" multi-task?
Taking things yet one step further, with the seven optimized apps, you can have two apps open at the same time; one on one screen and one on the other. That's downright ground-breaking. Talk about multi-tasking! Unfortunately, it's limited to just the seven optimized apps. Kyocera insists there are major technical reasons this is the case; standard apps aren't designed to work next to another app, and there are potential performance issues, too, since this is a step beyond multi-tasking (which can already tax the processor with certain apps.)
Wait, I thought one of the advantages of having an Android device was being able to use "true multi-tasking"!!!
Now they are calling is "simo-tasking," what is that ...
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Until it can do that, this phone sucks.
They must have gotten it wrong...........
Awesome Thought...
Big Fail!
