Hands-on with TAT's dual-screen phone concept and augmented reality app

What, you thought Home was the only project in the pipeline for these guys? The mobile UI experts at Sweden's TAT are in the house at MWC this week showing off a couple other nifty developments that are keeping them busy these days: a dual-screen UI concept utilizing TI's next-gen hardware, and an app that makes good on a concept it had demoed before. First up, they've been using a TI Blaze to demonstrate their vision of a phone with two displays, likely in a slider configuration (in fact, they showed a Droid to represent how they think the form factor could work) with a screen where you'd normally expect they physical QWERTY keyboard to be. It's slick and wicked smooth on the brutally powerful OMAP4 core, but realistically, this is something unusual enough so that we'd need to play with a unit for a good, long while before drawing any usability conclusions. TAT believes we could see devices with this kind of setup by years' end, but we don't know what carriers, manufacturer, or time frames would be involved at this point.

Next up, Recognizr is the realization of the Augmented ID concept it showed off last year that lets you tag your face (it sounds weird, but it's quite literally true) with icons representing services that you use, each of which exposes information about you that you want others to know; then, other users with the system can put you in their viewfinder and see the same icons. It's not flawless -- in fact, TAT readily admits that they probably need better camera tech before it can be commercialized, and they had quite a few issues during our demo time -- but it's a clever concept that's better watched on video than explained, which is convenient considering that we've got videos of both of these goodies in action after the break. Check 'em out, won't you?

[Rem DX Posted Feb 16th 2010 10:52PM]

I see no real need for this but for some reason, I must have it...

[therockr92 Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:24PM]

Same with me and the iPad lol but this would kick ass

[luqmantechiecom Posted Feb 17th 2010 1:59AM]

@Rem DX finally, this could lead to smaller form factor flip smart-phones and the end to pocket dialing

[wenwalk Posted Feb 17th 2010 3:26AM]

@Rem DX

well, i didnt see engadget posted about it but MSI brings 7" dual screen PC/phone.

and yes a 2nd screen is better in any way

[amrkvati Posted Feb 16th 2010 10:54PM]

eden of the east is coming closer to reality!

[BrosefStalin Posted Feb 17th 2010 4:55PM]

@(Unverified)
Noburess obureju.

[djsiek Posted Feb 16th 2010 10:57PM]

Cool concept, but why can't you just split the screen with software and not hardware?

[Ryan Hemler Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:04PM]

@djsiek
I agree.

[bech Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:19PM]

@djsiek
Because the idea is that the screens will be separated from each other

[wenwalk Posted Feb 17th 2010 3:28AM]

@djsiek

stupid, you also wont have to carry the big shell that u see ...

[Bean Posted Feb 17th 2010 10:07AM]

@djsiek My thoughts exactly. The only way I could see 2 separate screens being beneficial is if this were a clam-shell design with a screen on either side, and no physical keypad.

[Complex Pants Posted Feb 16th 2010 10:59PM]

I hope OMAP 4 makes it into the next gen Pre. That would be sick.

[krische Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:32PM]

@Complex Pants

Oh God yes, that is my hope of why they are taking so long to announce something.

[cursive Posted Feb 17th 2010 1:45AM]

@Complex Pants
....if there is a god

[d1mitrov Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:01PM]

i like the TAT widget interface much better than this...

[creepin Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:02PM]

i think Nokia already got their dibs on something like this

or it might be wishful thinking, but it would make sense, nokia has a press event at around years end already announced ...

[d1mitrov Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:03PM]

i like the TAT widget interface much better, i think its way more useful and prettier looking than this

[Bud92 Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:12PM]

it should be the not they

[Mr Oos Posted Feb 17th 2010 12:38AM]

@Bud92

they should be the it...



...NOT!

/borat's voice

[Notable Reviewer Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:13PM]

Good idea but not so cool look. It should make typing easier with two screens though. It's hard to type and see what ur typing on one screen like the itouch. :)

[krische Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:32PM]

Well if they had time to develop this, I would imagine other phone manufactures have been developing with the OMAP4 for some time now too.

Please oh please, Palm release a WebOS phone or tablet with this chip.

[Spiky haired boy Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:36PM]

@krische
a webOS tablet with the form factor of a plam pre would be a iPad contender. Slide out key board and multitouch screen would just be sick.

[PancakeMix Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:51PM]

I find the idea of two hardware screens redundant.

It would be far more dynamic to split one screen into two via software when needed.

[TrumanHW Posted Feb 16th 2010 11:51PM]

Hey clues... the top machine is running on an OMAP processor.. do you REALIZE how fast it is?? That thing goes in mobile handsets! Screw qualcomm. Their stuff SUCKS!

[fatefodder Posted Feb 17th 2010 12:54AM]

Just repeating, but: do we really need two separate screens?

[Spiky haired boy Posted Feb 17th 2010 1:12AM]

@fatefodder
no you don't but in five years you will.

[Tristan88888888 Posted Feb 17th 2010 7:09AM]

im very impressed, although one thing i notice is it seems it would make more sense to have one big screen split simply by an imaginary line. then at least you could watch movies in landscape. still though, impressive how much it was handling at once.

[gentlefury Posted Feb 18th 2010 7:37PM]

yeah i dont get the 2 screens.....the interface on the TI thing is great...but MAN that thing is HUGE!!! Did you see the droid sitting next to it, looked like an ipod nano in comparison.