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Kyocera Echo review
It's not exactly difficult to put into words what the Kyocera Echo is -- it's a dual-screened Android phone, after all -- but it's a wee bit more challenging to wrap your head around who exactly it's for. The hardcore gaming contingent already has Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play, and those obsessed with screen real estate have options spanning the gamut -- everything from Dell's 5-inch Streak to a veritable cornucopia of choices in the 4- to 4.3-inch range. So, where exactly does this oddball fit in? Quite frankly, we get the impression that it's doing its darnedest to carve out a market of its own, a thought that's reinforced by Kyocera's dedicated app development space and two-faced Simul-Task mode. Early critics (read: us) railed on the fact that double the screens meant double the trouble in terms of battery life, and there's no question that a second cell was included with our test unit. But are the advantages of having a second 3.5-inch WVGA touchpanel enough to overshadow the obvious pitfalls? Join us as we do a little soul-searching in our full review, hosted up just past the break. %Gallery-120864%
Mintpass planning a dual-screen, dual boot tablet for 2011
Mintpass, the Korean firm known for its Mintpad tablet (as well as a few baubles, including a flashlight that looks curiously like a chapstick tube and the Cube MP3 player), has recently announced that it will soon be releasing a dual-touchscreen, dual OS device. We don't have too many details yet, but we do know that it's, um, slated to ship with Windows 7 and Android, as well as Android Market access and some sort of feature called "Space Touch" (which we have no details about but sounds pretty awesome nonetheless). Like the Toshiba Libretto W100, this will be able to either operate as two independent displays or, when folded up like a laptop, feature the keyboard on one display with your apps on the other. The company is currently looking for a manufacturer and plans on launching the thing sometime next year.
Toshiba's dual-screen Libretto W100 laptop on sale in America for $1,100
Terrific news, laptop shoppers. Toshiba's concept-turned-commercial Libretto W100 is now on sale in the US of A, but there's no telling how long it'll remain in stock. We heard from the get-go that this dual-screen wonder would only be a limited run, and just a week after going on sale in Japan, the W105-L251 is getting prepped right now for a shipping label with your address on it. $1,099.99 buys you a Pentium U5400 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit), integrated Intel HD graphics, a memory card reader, 2GB of DDR3 memory, a 62GB solid state drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, an inbuilt webcam and an 8-cell battery. Oh, and twin 7-inch WSVGA LCD panels. Toshiba reckons that you'll get yours in "2 to 3 weeks" if you order direct, though Amazon has a pre-sale of its own going for those who like to press their luck. %Gallery-99541%
Toshiba's dual-screen Libretto W100 hits Japan next week
It's no Courier, but Toshiba's dual-screened Libretto W100 is about as good as we're going to get and, if you're in Japan, the getting is about to get good. The key-free lappy is due to start shipping there on August 11, which means you're just a few days (and, possibly, a few very long flights) away from getting your fingerprints all over one. If, however, you're not so much into the importing scene, you're going to have to wait a bit longer for this $1,100 curiosity to hit US shores through normal retail channels. How much longer? Toshiba promised a summer release, and let's just say that the days aren't getting any longer.
