Kyocera Echo and the eDGe

www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383329,00.asp

Just like the EE, Kyocera is venturing into bold new waters for something innovative that the industry may think is "next-gen" or the fusion of social media communications and cutting edge technology. It certainly has potential, and you can bet the design won't go away even if sales are dismal (this IS Sprint we're talking about) so expect things to only get better from here.

Looks like dual-screen technology is the way to go and may soon be the standard!

Any thoughts?

I dunno . . . . Not a very positive review.

The thing I like about the eDGe is not so much that it has 2 screens as that it has 2 different kinds of screens, and it ties them together so well!

But Kyocera is giving people more functional space on a cell phone, so maybe with work it will be the wave of the future. Is it Asus that is making a dual-LCD machine?? I forget -- somebody is! And there was (is??) the Kno . . . so you may be onto something!

Acer has a dual 14" LCD machine coming, Toshiba had the limited edition Libretto dual-LCD (smaller than the Acer one), and then was the original ill-fated Kno (the Acer appearing to be just as large and expensive).

Originally Posted by Filark

....The thing I like about the eDGe is not so much that it has 2 screens as that it has 2 different kinds of screens, and it ties them together so well! ....

Agreed. This is what makes the eDGe so special.The Acer device with 2 14" screens is just a behemoth that no one will want (Acer Iconia 6120, Intel i5 Processor, 4GB RAM, 600GB HD, about $1200). I own a Toshiba Libretto, and while it's cute, fits in a pocket, running Win7 with a small touch screen (capacitative only) is no fun. The 2 screens is interesting but not so useful. So far, Entourage is the only company that I know of to market a dual screen device with 2 different, but integrated screens.

Think of it in the context of the times: the Echo, according to ONE review, is clunky, unwieldy, and does not have enough software to support its features (and it drains battery life FAST). It's a mobile phone and a dual-screen device meant for social media and communication. It's the way they are marketed: the eDGe is specific about what market it is trying to appeal to whereas the Echo is open for anyone interest in its design. Like I said, it (the Echo) probably won't take-off because it's a first launch device; but as long as developers keep playing with and tweaking the technology, things can only get better.

There's no denying that the eDGe left a remarkable impact on the consumer technology scene; but it was reduced to whimper due to bad marketing decisions and low investor support. If larger companies see that dual-screen is actually efficient and productive, then there's no doubting that INTEGRATED dual-screen devices WILL become the way of the future (wow, this sounds so 1980s! LOL!!!).

I hope you're right, ShiningTiger!