YotaPhone 2 "The Phone With Two Fronts" E-Ink

[rcentros]

The Youtube blurb for the YotaPhone 2 -- including highlighting its enhanced ability for reading. You don't have to chose between LCD or E-Ink. Get both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QJHnH8nS0U

Now this is one I might be interested in -- should it ever come to the U.S.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by rcentros

The Youtube blurb for the YotaPhone 2 -- including highlighting its enhanced ability for reading. You don't have to chose between LCD or E-Ink. Get both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QJHnH8nS0U

Now this is one I might be interested in -- should it ever come to the U.S.

And if the price was slashed by about half...

I saw a review of it, and I really like it. But for me, it's absolutely not worth €600...

(no mobile device is, btw, I'd not pay €600 for any phone, I thought the €250 for my current phone was already a bit too much...)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

(no mobile device is, btw, I'd not pay €600 for any phone, I thought the €250 for my current phone was already a bit too much...)

Doesn't it rather depend how much you use it? I paid £560 (about €720) for my iPhone 4, but that was in May 2010; I've used it for at least an hour a day every day for those four and a half years, or roughly 1670 days, so it's ended up costing me about 34p/day, which I think personally is excellent value for money. I know people who spend perhaps £200 on a cheap Android Smartphone, but buy a new one every year - or even more often. They are certainly spending far more than I do.

[Shades]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

And if the price was slashed by about half...

I saw a review of it, and I really like it. But for me, it's absolutely not worth €600...

(no mobile device is, btw, I'd not pay €600 for any phone, I thought the €250 for my current phone was already a bit too much...)

Actually, that sounds pretty reasonable for a dual screen device. Flagship smart phones aren't cheap and this one offers something pretty different than everything else out there.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Doesn't it rather depend how much you use it? I paid £560 (about €720) for my iPhone 4, but that was in May 2010; I've used it for at least an hour a day every day for those four and a half years, or roughly 1670 days, so it's ended up costing me about 34p/day, which I think personally is excellent value for money. I know people who spend perhaps £200 on a cheap Android Smartphone, but buy a new one every year - or even more often. They are certainly spending far more than I do.

You can use 'cheap' Android smartphones for years, too. It will be a lot of cheaper to change the battery as well.

Another iPhone user's naive miscalculation? ...

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by joblack

You can use 'cheap' Android smartphones for years, too. It will be a lot of cheaper to change the battery as well.

Another iPhone fanboy's naive miscalculation? ...

You know very well that most of the people who buy cheap phones do it so they can talk themselves into buying another cheap upgrade every year.

Apple will charge you to replace the battery, but it's worth it. They will service stuff for about six years as long as you keep it in good condition and don't bring them something that is falling apart.

Yes, this is reasonably priced.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

You know very well that most of the people who buy cheap phones do it so they can talk themselves into buying another cheap upgrade every year.

Apple will charge you to replace the battery, but it's worth it. They will service stuff for about six years as long as you keep it in good condition and don't bring them something that is falling apart.

Yes, this is reasonably priced.

On most Android phone the battery can be changed in <= 60 seconds. No external help needed.

Well, as far as I know Apple stops firmware update support after only a few years. So if you want to be secure you have to upgrade to a newer, very expensive, iPhone even if the hardware would be able to run the new iOS?

You could argue the same with Android but if you pay 150 Euro it doesn't hurt that much. And in a lot of cases it would be possible to run a newer Cyanogenmod instead of the official Android port.

[Jack Torrance]

With YOTAPHONE 2, we measure battery life in days, not hours. 5 days of reading on a single charge and 2 days of basic smartphone functions if you configure YotaEnergy. Forget the frustration of leaving your charger at home.

Not really impressed. My iphone 6+ usually gets 2 days of usage without a charge and thats all functions not just basic.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by joblack

On most Android phone the battery can be changed in <= 60 seconds. No external help needed.

Well, as far as I know Apple stops firmware update support after only a few years. So if you want to be secure you have to upgrade to a newer, very expensive, iPhone even if the hardware would be able to run the new iOS?

Let's go one step further -- you can sometimes go to the next version, but doing so appears to have special code to target you and degrade the phone's performance in a semi-catastrophic manner.

You could argue the same with Android but if you pay 150 Euro it doesn't hurt that much. And in a lot of cases it would be possible to run a newer Cyanogenmod instead of the official Android port.

And Android updates don't deliberately break old phones, you just have to find someone who actually put in the work to build it for an older phone.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Jack Torrance

Not really impressed. My iphone 6+ usually gets 2 days of usage without a charge and thats all functions not just basic.

I just like the E-Ink screen ... a lot. I might even be interested in a YotaPhone 1/2 -- with just the E-Ink screen.

[latepaul]

There are a few "hands-on" videos on YouTube that are worth a look. This one I found helpful because it talks, briefly, about the YotaMirror technology. Essentially what this is - if I'm understanding correctly - is a way to run ordinary Android apps, but intercept the display on-the-fly and tweak it so it better suits eInk. He shows this with the Kindle app (about 2:40 on) and it does look like the page-turn animations are less of a problem.

This is key - the ability to play nice with existing 3rd party apps will make it much more attractive proposition.

I have to say, I am slightly tempted. My main caveats, questions are:

• How robust is the back? How will it fare over time?
• Are they planning an update to Lollipop? Kitkat is fine but looking ahead I want my phone to last at least 2 years so it'd be nice to be more current at some point.
• The site mentions wireless charging - I use this for my Nexus 5 and it means placing the phone face up on a charging plate which then gets warm (wireless charging is basically induction). So I assume I'd be placing this eInk screen down? See about re: robustness.

On price? Well it's a pretty decently-spec'ed Android phone with the added feature of the eInk back. On that basis, if you want/need/would benefit from the eInk display then it's probably reasonable. If that's just a novelty for you - or if it's the reason for buying it but the AMOLED screen is surplus to requirements - then it is going to seem expensive.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by latepaul

I have to say, I am slightly tempted. My main caveats, questions are:

• How robust is the back? How will it fare over time?

Can't answer most of your questions, but (for what it's worth) both the front and back (E-Ink) screens are protected with Gorilla Glass 3.

Here is a site with some of the specs.

http://mgeeky.com/yotaphone-2-dual-s...hone-launched/

[machinogodzilla]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

But for me, it's absolutely not worth €600...

(no mobile device is, btw, I'd not pay €600 for any phone, I thought the €250 for my current phone was already a bit too much...)

It's been a while, I forgot about this device, and then while looking for some hot news about 13.3" Onyx Boox Max I stumbled across one article with the author lamenting the fact that ereaders are growing instead of shrinking (apparently oblivious to the existence of Yota, Kobo Mini, Sony PRS-350 and others), which I find quite bizarre given that soon you will be able to hang your mobile phone on a bedroom wall in place of a regular TV and no one seems to be too concerned.

Anyway, it appears that YotaPhone 2 now can be bought for quite reasonable £229 in their shop. I'm tempted as it's very similar in size and spec to my Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini which size I find just right.

Also, on their Facebook page, they've just happened to post this:

Originally Posted by YotaPhone

Hello! YotaPhone 3 will be released this year. More details will be announced later. Stay tuned for updates!

which I think is very good news. I thought that perhaps they have sadly given up on ereader/phone combo idea, hence the low price of Yota 2, but it appears they are making room for YotaPhone 3.

Exciting?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by machinogodzilla

It's been a while, I forgot about this device, and then while looking for some hot news about 13.3" Onyx Boox Max I stumbled across one article with the author lamenting the fact that ereaders are growing instead of shrinking (apparently oblivious to the existence of Yota, Kobo Mini, Sony PRS-350 and others), which I find quite bizarre given that soon you will be able to hang your mobile phone on a bedroom wall in place of a regular TV and no one seems to be too concerned.

Anyway, it appears that YotaPhone 2 now can be bought for quite reasonable £229 in their shop. I'm tempted as it's very similar in size and spec to my Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini which size I find just right.

Also, on their Facebook page, they've just happened to post this:



which I think is very good news. I thought that perhaps they have sadly given up on ereader/phone combo idea, hence the low price of Yota 2, but it appears they are making room for YotaPhone 3.

Exciting?

Tempting! However, last november I went against my principles and bought a too expensive phone (still don't regret it though!)

[latepaul]

Originally Posted by machinogodzilla

I stumbled across one article with the author lamenting the fact that ereaders are growing instead of shrinking (apparently oblivious to the existence of Yota, Kobo Mini, Sony PRS-350 and others),

None of those devices are available new any more so I think the author of the article has a point. I'd love to see a refresh of the Kobo Mini or a Kindle equivalent.