Dual-screen YotaPhone to Ship Before Year's End

The dual-screen YotaPhone smartphone that we first clapped eyes on way back in 2012 is almost ready for launch. The phone comes from Russian company Yota Devices, which announced end-of-November availability via Russian retailer Svyaznoy. TechCrunch writes that the phone will be available internationally before Christmas.

 

Though its tech specs are not all that special, the YotaPhone is special in that it has a display on both the front and back of the device. The rear-facing panel is a 4.3-inch 360 x 640 EPD 16 grayscale e-ink display with a capacitive touch area underneath the display. On the front, you have a more traditional 4.3-inch 720 x 1280 capacitive multitouch LCD. The rear display functions as a notification screen and displays other information such as the time and date. It's always on, even if your battery is dead.

YotaPhone is based on a dual-core 1.7 GHz CPU and 2 GB of RAM and features 32 GB of storage, support for WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS, a 13-megapixel camera in the back, a 1-megapixel camera in the front, and an 1800 mAh battery. It runs on Android Jelly Bean v4.2.2. No word on pricing just yet, but we'll keep you posted.

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  • vinhn
    What's the point of dual screen? Tweet + Update Facebook at once?
    Reply
  • gaborbarla
    Sounds brilliant. The e-ink wont run the phone down and can show important incoming messages or news.
    Reply
  • DrBackwater
    Horrible resolutiind and size.
    Reply
  • vinay2070
    The e-ink display consumes power only when scrolling pages. Good to put the todo list, a pic or even a quote all day.
    Reply
  • ferooxidan
    this is good for selfies.haha
    Reply
  • deftonian
    Yeah, that is awesome. Perfect for reading messages in the daylight. I hope this takes off and gets other thinking in this direction. Maybe even phones that have half an e-ink screen on the back that displays the time, how many notifications you have, missed calls, etc. A lot of cool things could come about this tech.
    Reply
  • jacobdrj
    Very cool.
    Reply
  • rwinches
    Yeah, not so great for privacy as it is always on.
    How are you supposed to hold the phone without triggering a touch?
    Yeah, really great idea not gimmicky at all. Doh!
    Reply
  • presna
    so another extra screen to scratch and crack???? yaaay....

    wouldn't a clam-shell design be better for a dual screen idea? the outer screen can be the energy saving/less informative/whatever function required.....

    interesting idea but bad design....
    Reply
  • lpedraja2002
    11956954 said:
    Yeah, not so great for privacy as it is always on.
    How are you supposed to hold the phone without triggering a touch?
    Yeah, really great idea not gimmicky at all. Doh!

    Man you really lack imagination. The e-ink screen can be touch disabled whenever the main screen is on. There problem solved, no R&D job for you lol.
    Reply