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We knew Sprint had something special up their sleeves in conjunction with Kyocera – and early reports confirmed its name would be the Echo – but details were and still are scarce. According to new updates by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, however, the device will indeed be an industry first.
The Kyocera Echo will be the first dual-screen Android handset. As the Wall Street Journal describes it:
Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to unveil a smartphone late Monday that includes a twin set of touch screens that give the device a pseudo-tablet design, according to a person familiar with the device.
The device, called the Echo and made by Kyocera Corp. of Japan, features two 3.5-inch touch screens that can be stacked side by side.
It also houses a pivot hinge that allows one screen to be tucked beneath the other. I’m having trouble imagining this in practice, so I guess I’ll just have to wait until tonight to see just what Sprint and Kyocera have done. WSJ says users will be able to multi-task while both displays are in play.
Some use cases they provided were obvious: you could drag widgets or icons from one screen to another, or simply carry out multiple tasks at the same time. Imagine running Twitter on one side while you browse the web on another. It does kind of get me excited, regardless of the manufacturer.
That’s only me dreaming at this point, though. We don’t know just how flexible this device will be (software-wise, not hardware-wise), so we’ll be looking forward to the unveiling later on tonight in New York. [Image courtesy of Engadget. Not indicative of the Kyocera Echo’s design.]
two screens, will have to look at battery life and that renderign seems pretty poor, hope the product is nothing like it :)
It needs at least a dual-core to run smoothly lol.
that’s one fugly phone…both the phone and the ui…fugly
*sigh* what a waste of anticipation…its super ugly, looks like its hard to talk on, and battery life must be horrible with 2 screens. how do you expect to get a girl’s number with that? i was so looking forward to the LG Optimus 3D being announced >=[
Here’s hoping that resolution is better. Whats the sense of having 2 screensif they both suck.
Also, dual processor has to become standard. Cell phones with built in gimicks don’t last if the hardware isn’t impressive. Also…STOCK GINGERBREAD DAMMIT!
True. It looks very clunky.
that is just rendering guys, hold your horses
Crap,I was hoping for sprint to pull a HTC tablet outta that magic hat,guess not :-(
If thats whats coming, Sprint is off my list. I have to choose between them or AT&T. I would pick AT&T now just for the Atrix.
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Although I like what I see from the LG 2X. T Mo just isnt good in my area….I’m with Verizon but just moved and the area is bad for reception. I hate this.
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Maybe the phone will need 2 batteries…
Please read the final line of the post.
so laaame
I don’t see any problem with this thought… Sprint has brought out a new CONCEPT something different we have never seen before I applaud that… It is exactly what Motorola did with the Atrix on ass t&t presented a new concept we can use our smartphone devices… I applaud my favorite carrier they are bringing INNOVATION
If that picture is accurate then I’ll have to pass. Going to get an Evo tonight to hold me over till something awesome hits.
This is a prototype Fujitsu, not the Kyocera device.
Honestly, I wouldnt care if it was HTC that made it..I’m not looking for a dual screen phone..
dual screen = lame.
My God! That hing is bigger than the one that holds my front door in the frame.
@3, @4, @5 “[Image courtesy of Engadget. Not indicative of the Kyocera Echo’s design]” Reading is fundamental
Update : This MAGICAL PHONE will include two AAA MAGICAL BATTERIES, lol……..
This is so depressing….
@Quentyn isnt reading comments one of the worst things about the internet
haha THIS is what we were waiting for!? THIS is what requires david blaine to unveil!? This is so fudging laaaaame
Yikes. It would be better with a single 4″+ screen and software that offered split screen technology.
Whats with the huge hinge? Why not a small hinge all along the length. Battery life will be horrible unless it has two batteries.
f*#ing beautiful phone, magical dual screen, powered by a magical rechargeable AA battery that keep going, going, going…..
Some people can’t read very well, and are negative neds. Geez, give it a chance.
Why include a picture if it’s not the actual device itself? People obviously not reading and assume this is the actual phone! READ! It’s not!
have u guys seen the video clip of this phone? its like few months ago… this phone is beast
THATS NOT KYOCERA -____-”
ITS A FUJITSU DUAL SCREEN PHONE…
http://www.engadget.com/photos/fujitsu-dual-touchscreen-concept-phone-hands-on/#3436456
my god, i hope this not is true, this must be the ugliest thing i ever seen,who ever pick this up from sprint should get fired, i been waiting for this date for this! noooooooooooo somebody please help.
i was looking for a bad ass Lg 3d dual core , this is more for like virgin mobile!!
The way I see it working is that one half acts just like a normal Android phone, and the other is simply a screen. If you’re on an app, you can “fling” it to the other screen, where it sits (totally usable) whilst the first screen acts as if you’d pressed the ‘back’ button enough times to exit the app, and goes back to whatever was below it.
hahahaha tipical sprint, the trick is that david will take this ugly thing and turn it in to two beautiful phones one being the lg 3d phone and the other hp\palm 4g phone and there you have it, the impossible just became reality.
From sprint.com after doing search for “kyocera echo” (total of 4.7 inches of screen – not impressed)
“Kyocera Echo™ the first dual-touchscreen smartphone
The Kyocera Echo smashes the last barrier between you and the ultimate mobile experience. Its unique dual-touchscreen, pivot hinge design gives you all the space you need to run the apps that connect you to the people and information you need every day. Spread your work across all 4.7 inches of combined display or use each smaller display independently to run multiple apps. Closed, the Kyocera Echo is a pocket-friendly smartphone. Open it and expand your world.”
Great idea. I thank sprint for bringing something different to the table. Dual screen cemented nintendo as the best selling portable gaming device. I don’t see why this idea wouldn’t be great on a phone. What time is the press conference?
All this thing needs is a rotary dialpad…
Why even have an event for a dual screen phone, especially if it looks anything like the picture above..
I see another Sprint Flop happening tonight!!
Wow, the intelligence of the comments on this post are top notch!!
I’m fairly certain that the actual device being announced today will look nothing like the phone in the picture. It has potential to be something very awesome… On the other hand, it could be a dud.
Perhaps if that hinge wasnt so big…it may have a Chance. But i will admit…a Kyocera was my very first cell phone on Sprint in 9th grade…sadly, that experience is long gone and a Kyocera doesnt excite me anymore.
lmao @terrence, if a phone is what u use to get girls, I’d love to see the ladies u are getting LOL jk
but this looks interestingly good.
Hey, it’s a Nintendo DS phone. Just kidding.
Interesting concept, but probably unwieldy to use in practice. I am hoping for some dual core phones from Sprint soon.
I would never in a million years buy something like this.
GIVE IT A CHANCE…..SHEESH
judging from these comments, Phandroid has magically turned in to Engadget.
Maybe that is the Nintendo DS phone.
I’m really disappointed. I was hoping the screens would fold to form one large screen with very minimal border in between. This looks like a Nintendo DS and I will never by one. I’ll be looking at buying the galaxy now. Sprint Rocks even if they don’t have too many phones. Their customer service has been totally overhauled for the better and the service is better than the rest.
hahah @simon i was thinking the same thing, really whats the point of a dual screen phone?
There is no way THIS could be the big announcement from Sprint. Does that hideous thing come with a free can of WD-40 for that hinge? LMAO
Ewwwww!! “F” dual screens, we want dual processors! An industry first would be to be the first in the galaxy s series to skip froyo altogether and get gingerbread! First carrier stateside to have a 3d phone. THOSE would be firsts!
Disappointed –if this is it!
Ugly, this is what we waited for!
I have trouble with my year old phone’s battery! I could imagine if it had two screens.
who cares about multi tasking. my evo multi tasks enough. And the processing speed on my evo is bad @ss. I want a bigger screen that transforms so it can fit in my pocket. I thought this was going to be that. I rather carry around a galaxy tab untill then.
Well obviously there is a rapist in this anouncement so hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husbands because they rapin’ errbody! And hide ya husbands cuz errbody gettin raped up in here.
They should have had Michael Jackson moonwalk out onto the stage with this garbage.
dual screens, better have dual batteries and look better than the the picture that i see
I hope Sprint becomes the cool carrier again :( Everyone only enjoys the Evo and Shift, I want a better lineup again.
The Kyocera Echo was rumored to be Sprint’s next industry first yesterday. Today, the WSJ reports that the Kyocera Echo will indeed be a unique Android smartphone. It’s reportedly sporting dual 3.5-inch WVGA screens, which for instance can be used to turn it into a tablet form-factor. The Kyocera Echo is basically an Android 3.0 dual screen device – some kind of smartphone / tablet hybrid.
The new Samsung Orion and NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipsets are capable of running a solution like mentioned above.
If it is running honeycomb with a tegra 2, it will be WIN :)
Yeyyy, now you can be distracted exponentially while driving or walking or something. Do you see the sprint pattern yet? Huge screen with the evo, now 2 screens! I wonder what’s next besides the Elusive iphone.
I was hoping for the evo 2 or sprint version of the atrix
Jroc, T-mobile has a high end phone coming their way soon called “HTC Pyramid”. Only feature I can remember of the top of my head is 4.3″ screen. Google it.
Sure it has dual-screen, but does it have dual-core?
You must have faith in the “hinges” personally I don’t trust them. If you open and shut to often, sooner our later you will get problems.
If that’s what all the hoopla is for, Sprint fell on it’s face. What a waste & I’m a Sprint customer……
Too bad Kyocera is violation of GPL for their last Android phone, The Zio, that was released mid-last year and still doesn’t have the source code for the kernel released (I’ve requested it be released a few times, even though I don’t personally own the phone). I don’t think it’s smart move to buy an Android phone from a company who cares so little for the Open Source community they would violate the basic licensing agreements.
Photo is misleading. That photo is NOT the Echo, it is a prototype from another company for reference purposes. This picture has been all over the web today and idiots who cant take the time to read the actual article jump to make bashing comments about a phone that has yet to be unveiled. Stop trying to look hip and smart with loud-mouth predictions.
Echo…Ohec no
so there already is a leaked page on sprints site. 4.7 in with both screens. ugh seems lame i guess wait and see.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/07/kyocera-echo-leaks-on-sprints-site/
Come on MORONS! Read before you speak it clearly says that’s not the real pic at the bottom of the page. Seriously? You can read how to post on here but can’t read what your commenting about?
why am i feeling like this is going to be another Microsoft Kin type of device?–touted as the next greatest thing with social content–and then dead before it even hits a one month anniversary
Are you fucking kidding me??? Sprint needs to announce a partnership with Motorola or something. This Kyocera P.O.S. is not where its at.
Check it out: http://search.sprint.com/inquiraapp/ui.jsp?user.site=Global+Header&question_box=echo
If those are two 3.5” screens, then that guy has HUGE hands!
industry’s first and last. LOL. Nice going, Sprint.
The author should remove the fake “picture” of the Sprint Echo. It’s completely misleading the readers!
U guys don’t know sprint and that’s not even the real phone do your homework lamos
Looks like a DS on crack
That a Fujitsu Concept Phone… Why is Phandroid using it to confuse people?
dear god, DON”T LET SPRINT UNLEASH THIS UPON ITS NETWORK!
This is not the phone, but either way a dual screen? Thats like the backflip, a total gimmick that didnt work. Get a grip, dual core is standard, 8mp cam and forward facing cam, thats the future, this thing is already outdated. Waste of time and money… Atrix it is for me!
The NDS has software designed specifically to make use of its dual screens. Will this?
I don’t think Android supports multiple apps on the screen at once. Widgets yes, full apps no. So you’ll only be able to multitask on your home screen and maybe a few Sprint-approved apps. Other apps will probably only use one screen, leaving the other useless. Like putting a GBA cart in a NDS.
Most Kyocera phones I’ve used have been complete pieces of crap.
With the market becoming more and more competitive how DARE Sprint introduce this shadow of a device into a market filled with such up and coming stars. They just showed up to a gun fight with a knife, and a dull one at that. This is a total failure and waist of David Blaine”s as well as our, time.
That’s a very unattractive phone…. Reminds me of the Hinges on my door!!!
FAIL!!!
Follow the link and do a little investigation people.
Not a very smart move Sprint! The phone looks terrible and looks like a gimmick. Stick to the basics. Who would want this phone? Stick to what works Sprint. Whoever made the call on this phone coming to Sprint should be TERMINATED! What’s next after my Evo? Sprint you have to do better if you want to keep up with the other carriers.
Really? Why do you people complain. Just because Kyocera hasn’t made the best products lately doesn’t mean that this phone will be a fail like the Zio!!! This is not a DS knock-off because it DOES NOT FLIP AT ALL AND THE PICTUE ABOVE IS NOT THE ECHO!!!! Really tell me what is bad about this phone, it may not be so very fast, but that’s okay! Kyocera didn’t include 4G so they could keep prices low! There could have been a front-facing camera but if there were, there would have to be 4G. Why do you complain that there are two screens? It’s great for the constant multimedia user! They said it is aimed at ages 15-17 and 35-40! So of you are about 20-33 do not even think about the phone! Kyocera will soon be back in the front, they were the first to bring a smartphone to America and Sanyo was the first to bring a color screen and camera phone to the U.S. Kyocera was even the first to have a slider phone. I contacted Kyocera and told them suggestions for their next Android, and they went through with some of them, like a 5MP camera w/ flash, a more responsive screen, and multi-touch. Though they did leave out things like 4G, a front facing camera, trackpad ( which in this phone isn’t really needed), and a single 4 inch screen w/ slide-out keyboard. There were more used and unused suggestions, but those are the main ones. So really, how is 2 screens bad? This is the best Kyocera phone and they wil only become better.