YotaPhone, the dual-screen mobile device that made a splash at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, will launch in Russia, Austria, France, Spain and Germany before Christmas and in 15 other countries including the UK by the end of Q1 2014. In the UK it will only be available from Yotaphone's own online shop.
The YotaPhone has a 4.3-inch 720x1280 HD LCD display on the front and a 360x640 e-ink display on the back. The colour LCD display can be used like a normal Android phone, while the rear e-paper display can receive notifications and display news or maps while conserving battery life.
The YotaPhone is made by Russian smartphone manufacturer Yota, which also provides 4G mobile broadband services in the country. At a launch event in Moscow, Yota Devices CEO Vlad Martynov said that Yotaphone helps to solve the problem of the ‘always dark’ screen that current smartphones suffer from when in sleep mode.
Electronic paper display (EPD) technology can make information available and visible without draining the battery, meaning that the YotaPhone's e-ink display can be always on.
“Once we determined that an electronic paper display would work as a second screen, an array of new and improved user experiences became obvious,” said Martynov.
“For example, Yotaphone combines a smartphone and e-reader into one device for those who enjoy reading on the go. You can save images and information on the second screen, and it stays there, even if you lose battery power.”
He added: “You can save anything on the always-on display from a map to boarding pass information, like a missed call or meeting reminder, stays on the always-on screen until it is no longer needed.”
Other features of the YotaPhone include a 13-Megapixel camera, dual-core 1.7GHz Krait processor and 1800mAh battery. Yota said that the device has 7-10 times the battery life of other smartphones while in ‘reading mode’.
It runs Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2, has 2GB of RAM and comes in black or white versions.
“We are a start-up company that had a big idea and we’ve executed on that idea,” said Martynov. “This is YotaPhone 1.0. Expect other big and new things to follow.”
Source: The Telegraph
