kyocera: echo dual screen touch phone

kyocera’s ‘echo’ features two 3.5" touch screens, usable independently as shown here or as a single display

the first dual-screen smartphone for android, kyocera’s ‘echo‘ has just been publicly announced and is open for presale through service provider sprint.

running android 2.2 froyo on a 1GHz snapdragon processor, the phone features dual 3.5-inch touchscreens whose pivot hinge allows them to operate independently or in composite for a 4.7-inch display. its web browser supports full HTML, including flash 10.1.

together the phone’s screens create a 4.7-inch display

four operating modes make use of the expanded screen space: single-screen mode; tablet mode, which uses both displays as as single pane; simul-task mode, which permits any two core apps to run each on its own screen; and optimized mode, that lets apps use each screen independently but for related functions, such as  displaying a message interface on one and a virtual keypad on the other.

full view of back of phone

left: dialing screen and menu, in single-screen mode right: closer view of exterior with camera

bluetooth, wi-fi, and hotspot-ready, ‘echo’ also comes equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and HD video recording capability. built-in sensors include an accelerometer, digital compass, and light and proximity sensors.

the custom pivot hinge on the ‘echo’ enables a range of configurations for the device’s two screens

profile view of the closed phone

three-quarter view of the phone in use

video demo of the phone