I’m no fan of LG’s rear smartphone control keys — but turns out the company had its finger on the pulse of looming hardware disruption when it ushered in those backside smartphone controls last summer, with the G2. The back of the smartphone is becoming a space to watch. Read More
Do you have fond memories of the first YotaPhone? That particular device arrived with dual 4.3″ displays, where a 720p LCD screen was located in front, while the back had an e-Ink screen with 200ppi density. It was powered by the Snapdragon S4 SoC with a dual-core 1.7GHz Krait processor alongside 2GB RAM, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean as the mobile operating system of choice, and plenty of optimized apps that will play nice with the e-Ink display. Well, the second YotaPhone had been announced at Mobile World Congress in February this year as expected, sporting far superior hardware specifications as expected. We have word that the YotaPhone is now available for purchase in the UK at £419 pop.
YotaPhone Arrives In The UK original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Some of you might recall that back in 2013, a certain Russian handset called the YotaPhone was released. In terms of being a smartphone, it was your standard fare in terms of its hardware and whatnot, but what made the YotaPhone stand out from the crowd was the fact that it came packing an e-ink display on the back of it, which we have to say made it a really unique device in terms of both looks and functionality. Last we heard, the company was set to debut the YotaPhone 2 at MWC 2014 and sure enough they have, although in terms of naming it seems that they have stuck to the YotaPhone moniker. (more…)
The New YotaPhone Has Been Announced original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Russian mobile-making startup Yota Devices has just unveiled the next generation of its dual-screen smartphone, the YotaPhone. As with the current first-gen model, which went on sale in Russia and select European markets last December, the handset’s flagship feature is that it’s two-sided, with a full colour touchscreen display on the front and a low-power consuming e-ink display on the rear. Read More
One phone, two displays: That’s probably the simplest definition of the YotaPhone, which hails from Russia. First announced back in 2012, this phone has a 4.3 inch 720×1,280 LCD display up front with a 200 DPI E Ink display of similar size on the back. Powered by a 1.5Ghz Snapdragon S4 dualcore processor with 2GB RAM, this unique smartphone was released in select markets last year. At Mobile World Congress 2014 its successor, the YotaPhone 2, is expected to be launched.
YotaPhone 2 Launch Expected At MWC 2014 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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It’s the sort of concept that seemed too adventurous to ever make it to market, but this dual-screened YotaPhone is now available. At least, it is if you live in Russia, Germany, France, Austria or Spain.
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Back in 2012, we reported on a certain Russian handset by the name of YotaPhone. The device was expected to start shipping in December and sure enough it has. The company has announced that the handset will be made available starting today and can be purchased in countries such as Austria, France, Spain, Germany, and obviously Russia. We’re not sure if it will be making its way stateside, but Yota expects that by the end of the first quarter of 2014, it will be available in 20 markets in total, and cover regions such as CIS, Europe, and the Middle East. The YotaPhone will be priced at €499 (which is around $680).
For those hearing about the YotaPhone for the first time, the handset is a rather interesting handset. Instead of merely being your typical Android handset, the YotaPhone is an Android powered handset with dual displays, one on the front and one on the back, with the display on the back being a 4.3” EPD grayscale display with a resolution of 360×640 which can be used to display secondary information. The front display is a 4.3” LCD display and will sport a HD display with a resolution of 720×1280. It will be powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.7GHz, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage, and a 13MP main camera, a 1,800mAh battery and 4G LTE connectivity.
YotaPhone Launched For €499 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Remember the YotaPhone? The delightfully kooky Russian smartphone that pairs a bog-standard LCD screen with an eInk display on its rump? It’s been teased for a launch for months now, but the company behind it has just spilled the beans at a press event in Moscow: the YotaPhone will launch in Russian and Europe today complete with a confirmed €499/19,990 RUB price tag, right in line with rumors that flew around earlier this year.
Smartphone aficionados in Russia, Austria, France, Spain and Germany who are itching for a device that’s a bit off the beaten path can lay claim to their YotaPhones now, and Yota Devices is pushing to sell the devices in a total of 20 markets in Europe and the Middle East by the time Q1 2014 rolls around.
Bummer alert: the Americas didn’t make the cut for that first round of rollouts, and there’s no official word on when (if ever) that split-personality smartphone will ever find its way state-side.
Bear in mind that Yota Devices has been plugging away on the YotaPhone concept for over a year now, so the components ticking away inside of the thing aren’t exactly the newest you’ll ever come across. There’s a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip in there (though the company hasn’t specified exactly which variant), along with 2GB of RAM, a 4.3-inch 720p front display, and a surprisingly small 1800mAh battery to keep things humming away. If you were to just read those specs off a sheet of paper, it would sound like you were describing a flagship smartphone from (surprise surprise) last year, though as a whole the device still has enough oomph to keep up with users’ daily grinds.
But really, I don’t know anyone who’s been eyeing up the YotaPhone based on the strength of its spec sheet; the real star of the show though is the 4.3-inch eInk display mounted on the YotaPhone’s rear end in lieu of a more traditional backplate. Getting content onto the second screen seems simple enough — a two-finger swipe down on the front screen sends a screenshot of whatever you’re looking at to the paper-like rear display — but only a handful of apps are really optimized for the task from the get-go. That early list includes an organizer, a social feed/RSS reader, and a language learning tool to name a new, and we’re getting word that Yota Devices is going to open up the necessary APIs to curious devs in short order.
These days nearly every OEM is clamoring to deliver the sleekest, fastest, highest-def smartphones possible, and it’s sort of refreshing to see a company stop for a moment to ponder a smarter way to add value to the smartphone formula. Naturally, that’s not to say the YotaPhone is poised to be an overnight success. The limited scope of its launch means that the company behind the phone is missing out on traction in the crucial Asian and American markets, and it’s hard to deny the incredibly niche vibe this thing gives off. As much as I like it, the YotaPhone formula almost assuredly won’t click with a majority of potential smartphone shoppers, and there’s no way Yota Devices doesn’t realize that. If nothing else though, the path the company has chosen is an interesting one, and in a sea of smartphone sameness you can’t completely discount the value of a wild-eyed notion.
Want a little more? Check out the live stream of the event (courtesy of CNET) below:
The YotaPhone which was announced sometime at the end of last year certainly did look revolutionary back then – especially when it boasts of a dual-screen configuration that comprises of a 4.3” 720p LCD display, in addition to an E-Ink unit that helps save on the battery life in the long run. Well, it has been a while since we have heard anything about the YotaPhone, so here we are rather stoked to hear that the Android-powered smartphone from Russia is all set to ship internationally before Christmas Day arrives, making it a viable option for a Christmas present just in case you have already run out of ideas on what to get for the geek in your life.
YotaPhone has decided to work alongside Singaporean manufacturer Hi-P when it comes to mass manufacturing the smartphone. So far, we do not have any idea as to what the official price point will be like for the YotaPhone though. Confirmed hardware specifications include a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, a choice of 32GB or 64GB of non-expandable storage, and a 2,100mAh battery. What do you think of the YotaPhone? Is it a case of being a little bit too late to the game, especially since just about everyone has already moved on to quad-core processors?
YotaPhone To Ship From December Onward original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Russia-based Yota Devices has been working on a curious beast called the YotaPhone for years now, and it’s gained quite a reputation for itself because of its split personality. While the front of the phone sports a traditional LCD screen, the back plays home to a power-sipping eInk display because… well, why not?
The launch date was one of the last big questions left unanswered, but that’s no longer the case: the company has just confirmed to us that the YotaPhone will launch internationally before Christmas.
Frankly, it’s about time they’re getting this thing out the door considering just how long they’ve been teasing it to the public. Word of device first started making the rounds late last year, and an a very early version of the phone made public appearances at massive trade shows like CES and MWC (you can see our CES footage of the thing below). And it isn’t exactly a surprise that the company was gearing up for an official launch either – earlier this year the Russian company was confirmed it would start the mass production process with the help of a Singaporean manufacturer called Hi-P.
Still, the news may come as a bummer to some of YotaPhone’s biggest fans, as an earlier report out of Russia claimed that the Yota subsidiary would be pushing the device out the door some time in November. Those same reports also claimed that the YotaPhone would ship with a €500 price tag attached to it, but so far company representatives have remained mum when it came to cost.
That long-than-expected gap between promotion and production may have done the YotaPhone more harm than good. There’s little doubting that it raised plenty of eyebrows, but the spec sheet is looking a bit long in the tooth compared to the competition – the final production model is going to feature a dual-core 1.7GHz chipset, 2GB of RAM, a 4.3-inch 720p screen upfront, and a seemingly paltry 1800mAh battery. Granted, it shouldn’t be a total slouch with components like those, but the big question is whether or not the gimmicky second screen will be enough to tempt potential customers away from more prominent rivals like Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony, and more.
This is a developing story, please refresh for updates.
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