Since the year 2010, dual screens have become the latest trend in technology. With the emergence of Toshiba Libertto W100 which has a 7 dual screen notebook and another Acer Iconia 6120, the dual screens have now become popular in cell phones. In line, Kyocera Echo came up as being the first dual screen mobile by Android. To evaluate this latest trend, market analysts have observed that dual screens seem innovative as well as cool but only when they are seen with flexible LCDs which makes Kyocera being the pioneer of dual screen in smart phones deserves the good deal of approval.
The Echo comes in a dense and compact form yielding a Steampunk appearance upon close look. This imparts quite a chic and hip appearance rather than a smooth and sylphlike look of other current ultra slim Smartphones. The front of the Echo has an accessible slide and an articulating hinge revealing the underlying copper alloyed body of the phone. Though the metal exudes a soft look, the hinge is said to be an awkward chunk making it difficult to open and close single handedly. For a more routine use, Kyocera Echo can be employed as a customary touch screen cell phone with dual screens that can be displayed one on to the other. However, it may cause some nuisance when closing the phone as there is no lock provided for it. This may seem odd to users as its upper screen may either tilt or swing when kept inside the pocket of a bag.
Moreover, as the Echo consists of two displays making it quite thick when closed, all the other features follow the standards of other hi-tech Smartphones. All ports and control buttons are located on the left side which includes a 3.5mm stereo jack, a micro USB port, micro SD card slit, volume controls and power button. On its rear are the camera lens, the LED flash and speaker grille. With regards to its speed, Echo does not run on a standard 1GHz Android 2.2 as compared with the other Smartphones but it is not also a slow phone. It displays 785 score in Quadrant which is surely lower than the recent 1GHz Android phones that benchmarks at a 930 Quadrant on average. Meaning, users may experience some pauses and lags during browsing and networking.
Kyocera Echo is definitely a technology enhanced dual screen modality on its own function. With regards to its performance and implementation, users can see the applications and videos running across both screens in absolute canvas mode simultaneously. Kyocera also includes extensions to join and spare dual screen modes or to span the screens. Applications still run well while spanning the screens. Though the double display mode in the core of Echo and even the LCDs installed in it are not at all vibrant and vivid, likewise, there is no AMOLED technology, IPS or SLCD there. It does not allow varying range of dimensions and viewing angles, quality outdoor visibility or razor sharpness. Probably this may be the cost lowering factors that lead to come up with a price of $199 in contract, but even if market does not evaluate Kyocera Echo, it is still considered on the top of the list of super high quality, hi-tech and high resonant Smartphones.