YotaPhone double-sided smartphone

 

This is the first “always-on” premium Android smartphone and features front-facing LCD and electronic paper display on the back.

Are two screens better than one? Russian mobile device company Yota Devices hopes so, as its first 4G smartphone includes displays on both the front and back of the phone. The new Android, called YotaPhone, is currently only available in a few European countries.

"YotaPhone combines a smartphone and e-reader into one device," said Yota Devices CEO Vlad Martynov in a statement.
The front has a typical 4.3-inch LCD display, just like any iPhone or Samsung phone. But its second display looks more like Amazon's Kindle e-reader: black and white graphics and text atop a light gray background.

Yota Devices is a Russian company known for its cellular modems and now it has just launched a unique smartphone, the YotaPhone being the industry's first dual-screen handset that features a front-facing LCD screen and a grayscale e-ink display on the back that has "always-on" capabilities.

Apart from the dual-display design approach, the features and technical specs of this handset are rather average, as you can see below:

• Processor: 1.7 GHz dual-core Krait
• Memory/Storage: 2 GB RAM; 32 GB internal storage
• Displays: 4.3-inch capacitive multitouch LCD with 720X1,280 pixels and 4.3-inch e-ink with 360X640 pixels
• Cameras: 13 MP with AF and LED flash and 1 MP webcam 
• Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS
• Operating system: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• Weight/Dimensions: 0.32 pounds; 5.26X2.64X0.39 inches
• Battery/Autonomy: 1,800 mAh; up to 68 hours when using only the back screen

Available in black and white, the YotaPhone features a capacitive touch area below the electronic paper display that allows gesture controls. Its list of features includes location-based wallpapers or the "emotional" communication capabilities that earned the device an Innovation Lion award in July 2013 at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

"You can save images and information on the second screen, and it stays there, even if you lose battery power," said Martynov. "You can save anything on the always-on display." Though the e-ink display isn't touch sensitive, there is a small patch of smartphone real estate beneath the display that customers can use to navigate the phone.

The addition of the second screen adds several small personal touches to the phone. Users can use the e-ink display as decoration and post their own wallpapers. In addition, the phone has its own location-based wallpaper that provides weather updates in real time.

Though YotaPhone isn't available in the United States, Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst for Moor Insights, said it stands a chance to compete with other smartphones here. "In a mobile market that is desperately seeking differentiation, YotaPhone is distinctive with its dual-display," he told ABC News. "That kind of differentiation cannot only play in Western European countries, but also in the United States."

The YotaPhone currently retails for €499, approximately $678.