Yota YotaPhone 2
YotaPhone Launches Indiegogo Campaign for YotaPhone 2
YotaPhone today initiated an Indiegogo campaign for the YotaPhone 2. The company said earlier this year it intended to bring the YotaPhone 2 to certain markets via the crowd-funding site, and today it made good on its word. Early backers can score the YotaPhone 2 for $500, though the number of handsets available at that price is limited to 100. Most of the available stock costs $550. Yotaphone said it will ship the YotaPhone 2 to Indiegogo investors in early August, which is "just ahead of [our] general launch in North America." The YotaPhone 2 is unique because it has two screens: a standard display on the front and an e-ink display on the back to help save battery life.
Yota Debuts White YotaPhone, Pushes Lollipop
YotaPhone today made available a white version of the YotaPhone 2 handset. The white version of the phone, announced earlier this year, ships with Android 5.0 Lollipop and revised user interface elements for the e-ink display. Otherwise, it is identical to the black model. YotaPhone has also begun pushing Android 5.0 to the original YotaPhone 2 handset. The company said it may take up to two weeks for all users to see their device updated. YotaPhone plans to bring both the black and white versions of the YotaPhone 2 to the U.S. this summer through an Indiegogo campaign, but the details of which have yet to be revealed.
YotaPhone 2 Launching in U.S. via Indiegogo
YotaPhone plans to launch its unique dual-screen YotaPhone 2 in the U.S. this spring via crowd-funding site Indiegogo, according to Matthew Kelly, YotaPhone's Managing Director for Americas. The YotaPhone 2 is a high-end Android phone with a large e-paper display on the back that uses no power when displaying static images and graphics, greatly extending battery life when used often instead of the traditional front display. It is compatible with both T-Mobile and AT&T networks, including LTE. It will sell for approximately $600. As usual for Indiegogo, the company will offer incentives to early backers. Those incentives have not been nailed down, but may include a bumper case or even a discount on the phone. After a successful Indiegogo launch, the company plans to expand availability to third-party retailers such as best Buy. YotaPhone is hard at work on its software upgrade to Android 5.0 (Lollipop), which should be available by the time units start shipping in the U.S., or shortly thereafter. The software update will also include an overhauled 2.0 version of the API for third-party app support of the e-paper screen. The company will also launch a white version of the YotaPhone 2, which has a white back and sides, but keeps the black face. The white color is expected by late summer.
YotaPhone 2 Headed to U.S., Says Exec
One of the top four U.S. carriers has agreed to sell the YotaPhone 2, according to YotaPhone executive Matthew Kelly. Kelly would not specify which of the four carriers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless) plans to sell the phone, but he said it is coming later this year. The YotaPhone 2 is notable because it has two displays: a standard LCD panel on the front and an e-ink display on the back. The e-ink display can be used to conserve battery power, as it draws about one-seventh as much energy as an LCD screen. The YotaPhone 2 is already for sale in Europe. Pricing in the U.S. is as yet unknown.
YotaPhone's Improved Dual-Screen Smartphone Goes On Sale
YotaPhone today announced the availability of the YotaPhone 2, a smartphone that has a traditional display on one side and an e-ink display on the other. The YotaPhone 2, which was first revealed in February of this year, is meant to help people access and read content while preserving battery life. The device runs Android 4.4 KitKat on the main screen and a slimmed down UI on the e-ink screen that lets users scan their email, check the weather, read text messages, check the news, and read e-books. The e-ink display measures 4.7 inches and boasts 48 hours of reading time. The YotaPhone 2 is powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It includes an 8-megapixel main camera and a 2-megapixel user-facing camera. It supports select LTE 4G networks and goes on sale this week in Russia and the U.K. for approximately $870. According to YotaPhone, it may be made available in the U.S. next year.
Hands-On: YotaPhone
Yota announced a second-generation Android smartphone that has an e-ink display on one side and a regular screen on the other. Here are a few thoughts about Yota's unique handset.
YotaPhone Upgraded With Full Touch, Better Specs
Yota Devices today announced its next-generation YotaPhone. Like its first phone, the new model has one regular display plus a large e-paper display on the back. On the new version, both displays are full touch displays. The design is also now more curved and comfortable. The specs have been upgraded to include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and NFC. With displays on both sides, a full 74% of its surface area is touch screens. The 4.7-inch e-paper display is not only a full touch screen, but has been upgraded with better resolution and a light to be visible in the dark. Like all e-paper displays, it only uses power when changing, so it can display information constantly using almost no battery. The standard display on the other side is a 5-inch AMOLED panel. The new YotaPhone is planned to be available in Russia and Europe by the end of 2014, with a U.S. version to follow in early 2015.
