Amazon was awarded a patent for a tablet sporting a screen on both sides.
Mashable has uncovered a patent awarded to Amazon -- called Multi-Display Type Device Interactions -- that reveals a tablet design sporting a screen on each side. The patent suggests that one screen will be e-ink-based for static reading, while the other will be LCD-based and optimized for watching video. A camera will also be embedded on each side to determine which screen the user is currently using.
"A device might alternatively utilize at least one camera to determine which side of the device is facing the user, and might activate the display on that side of the device to convey content," the patent reads. "A device might display notifications on an edge of the device, such that a current orientation of the device might be less important."
According to the patent, each display will be touch sensitive so that the user can move content between the two screens. Battery consumption will actually be improved, as slow-moving to non-moving content will be shifted to the e-ink screen.
"An electronic device including two or more display elements can provide enhanced functionality with improved rates of power consumption," the filing reads. "A user can cause information that does not change rapidly to be provided or moved to a relatively static display element, such as an electronic ink display, which enables that information to be displayed for a period of time with little additional power consumption."
The patent was filed by Amazon Technologies in Reno, Nevada on February 25, 2011 and finally granted on August 30, 2012. That said, don't expect to see a dual-screen Kindle Fire appear during Amazon's big reveal next week. If anything, maybe this will be the Kindle Fire 3 design for 2013, possibly eliminating the base Kindle device for good.
I agree about the two-sided screen being a magnet to break. But honestly all the device would need would be a sort of filp-cover on a hinge. You could just flip the cover over to the screen you are not using. I don't think the idea is that you would actually use both screens at once.
E-ink is f'ing awesome for reading. And while I don't mind reading on my Kindle Fire, it does wear on your eyes after awhile. A two-in-one device could be great. I mean, even better would be a switch that you can flip to switch the same screen from one to another, but I'm pretty sure this isn't even technically possible. Either way, to me this idea seems like it could be cool but it has to be executed with perfection.