Review: Kyocera Echo
The messaging applications on the Echo are essentially no different from any other Android 2.2 handset. The stock email, Gmail, SMS/MMS, and Google Talk (IM) apps are all present and accounted for. As already noted, the Echo offers a richer experience with some of these thanks to its different modes of operation.
The email app works great in both Simul-Task and Optimized modes. The best feature in Optimized mode is having access to a software QWERTY keyboard (with Swype, no less!) on one display and the email you are typing on the other. The larger software QWERTY makes a world of difference when it comes to improving the speed and accuracy of typing on the glass.
Need to grab an image from an SMS someone sent you and stick it in that email? No problem. Tap the two displays at the same time, and the Simul-Task screen pops up, letting you open the SMS app. You can copy and paste directly from one to the other. That's really helpful.
The SMS/MMS app provides the same features on the Echo, such as threaded conversations, and in-line media support. Google Talk is also unchanged. Using Google Talk to IM and the SMS app for texts at the same time is neat.
On the social networking front, neither Twitter nor Facebook is pre-installed. You'll have to snag them from the Android Market in order to use them. There is, however, a custom social networking app called Jibe that's on board. I found this to be an annoying substitute. Why? You have to sign up for a Jibe account before you even know what functionality it provides, and it is yet another app that I have to grant access to my social networking feeds.
Once you log in, you'll find that it is (yet another) social networking tool that pulls together all your apps/services into one spot. True, it is a more robust than some of the other apps out there (better support for Twitter DMs and Facebook messages, for example), but I still prefer the stand-alone Twitter and Facebook apps. I am sure some of you will like Jibe, but it didn't jive well with me.
Foursquare isn't preloaded, but Google's Latitude is.
Of all the apps and services that may or may not be customized for the Echo's dual-screen set up, I truly hope that Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and others are on the short list.
Hands-On: Kyocera Echo
Kyocera Echo Sports Two Displays, Hinged Design
Kyocera Echo
