Dual-Screen Kyocera Echo Set To Launch in Mid-April

Last month, Sprint took the wraps off the Kyocera Echo, an upcoming Android OS smartphone with not one, but two large touchscreens. The carrier is only now announcing the price and release date for this innovative device.

The Echo will have a design unlike anything that has come along before. Not only will it have two WVGA screens, it is going to use a design that will allow it to be reconfigured into a tablet, a clamshell, or a simple bar.

Those who are interested in this device still have a bit of a wait ahead: it is set to launch on April 17. It will be available for pre-order a bit sooner though, on Saturday, March 26. 

It is going to have the standard price for a high-end smartphone: $200 with a two year contract from Sprint.

An Overview of the Kyocera Echo
This device is going to offer a number of different configurations depending on what the user is doing.

In Single-Screen Mode, the Echo will act like any smartphone with just one 480 x 800 touchscreen.

Sliding out the second screen is going to open up plenty of new possibilities. In Simul-Task Mode, this device will be able to run any two of its seven core apps (messaging, email, Web browsing, phone, gallery, contacts and VueQue) at the same time.

In Optimized Mode, both the Echo's displays will show a single, optimized app with complementary functionality -- like writing an email on one screen with a touchscreen keyboard on the other.

This smartphone is going to have one more trick: Tablet Mode will allow it to spread one application across both displays for a 4.7-inch, 960 x 800 viewing area.

The Kyocera Echo is going to run Google's Android OS 2.2 on a 1 GHz processor. It will have 1 gigabyte (GB) of on-board memory and come bundled with an 8 GB microSD card.

This smartphone will support Sprint's 3G network, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

As its two displays are going to require an unusual amount of power, Kyocera is including two 1370 mAh batteries (one to use and one to charge) plus a charging cradle.