Sprint Kyocera Echo: Two screen smartphone anything but ordinary

Its not uncommon for power computer users to have more than one PC monitor going at once. That way, they can view different programs and tasks on different displays at the same time.

Kyocera and Sprint are applying a similar principle to their latest smartphone. The result is the Kyocera Echo device Ive been testing, billed as the nations first dual touch-screen Android smartphone.

In many respects, Echo is an ordinary 3G smartphone, capable of running the usual library of Android apps, and with a set of features that includes a 5-megapixel camera with flash, stereo Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and more. It comes with 1 gigabyte of on-board memory and an expandable 8-GB microSD memory card.

But the phone is anything but ordinary. Echo has two adjacent high-resolution 3.5-inch touch-screens, held together by a pivot hinge. The two screens can be operated independently, operated side-by-side or combined in tablet mode to form a viewing area that measures 4.7 inches  46% larger than the iPhone, Sprint and Kyocera like to point out.

You can also fold the device so that only a single screen is visible, which is the way youd carry it in your pocket.

The phone will be available through Sprint retail channels on Sunday for $199.99 after a rebate and with a two-year service contract.

Sprint and Kyocera deserve brownie points for coming up with an innovative design. The device feels sturdy. The displays take advantage of Cornings durable Gorilla Glass. Games and other apps that are optimized for the dual screens come from Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Namco Bandai, MobiTV, Jibe Mobile, TeleNav and more.

Multiple screen positions

But while two screens are better than one in theory, in practice the dual-screen Echo clearly isnt for everybody. I found it clumsy and not always intuitive.

It wont take long to master folding and unfolding the device and snapping it into place, but its still a tad awkward. You can prop it up so that one screen tilts up while the other is flat. Or you can position it so that both screens rest along the same plane. You can stand it with both screens visible, too. As with other smartphones, you can operate screens horizontally or vertically.

The smartphone is rather thick, quite evident when in its single-screen mode folded position. At 6.8 ounces, its heavy, too.

In tablet mode, the edges of each display are pushed together to form a black seam that inelegantly splits what would otherwise be one large display area. The line was a distraction while playing a round of Namcos Pac-Man. It also sometimes breaks up a word that appears on the screen.

Whats more, for all its potential, its not always obvious how to best exploit the two displays. You have a few ways to proceed.

In the aforementioned tablet mode, a single app spans both displays. In single-screen mode, youre using the device pretty much like any other Android device (the phone runs version 2.2 of Googles mobile operating system).

In whats called Simul-Task mode, you can run certain compatible apps  the browser, e-mail, photo gallery, messaging and a YouTube app called VueQue  concurrently but separately on the dual displays.

So, for example, you might be on the browser surfing the Web to find a restaurant on one screen, while using the mail app on the other screen to send an e-mail with all the particulars for your lunch date.

Meanwhile, in so-called Optimized mode, the two displays can support a single app with functions that complement one another. For example, you might watch a YouTube video on the top display while searching for other YouTube videos on the second display.

In the TeleNav GPS Navigator app, you can display a map on one screen while tapping icons on the other screen to find nearby ATMs, gas stations, hotels and more.

Sprint says youll get about 7½ hours of talk time on the battery, but the use of the two screens is apparently enough of a power concern that a spare battery and portable charger are included.

Its worth mentioning that this initial version of Echo operates at 3G speeds, not the faster 4G networks that Sprint is deploying for some of its other smartphones. Too bad.

Sprint isnt positioning Echo as a tablet replacement so much as providing the smartphone crowd with extra screen real estate during those times when it may be helpful. Its an idea worth pursuing. But despite its second screen, Echo in my view falls a little short.

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The bottom line

Sprint Kyocera Echo

$199.99 after mail-in rebate and with two-year contract

www.sprint.com

www.kyocera-wireless.com

Pro. Second screen idea is innovative. You have various options for using screens separately, in tandem or in tablet mode.

Con. Phone is thick and heavy. Seam breaks up display in tablet mode. Not always intuitive.