Hands-on with the Sprint Kyocera Echo

After seeing the video I don't hate the device as much. I agree the idea is forward thinking. Should have announced at CES and not this big production on its own (the problem in doing that is all those CES phones had specs that kill the Echo). The big problem is its Kyocera, I feel if HTC or Apple would have done this people would not feel so bad. From the video the phone seems like it's a decent build quality. If none of the other companies make anything like this though there is no way developers will make games and apps for this lone phone to where you can take advantage of the screens. If this idea does catch on, it is kinda like a real Tab Phone. I don't understand the misses though with the lack of 4G, front camera, etc... You want people to buy this thing you really should cover all the basics of a current high end phone. Release with 2.3 as well because by the time this phone comes out pretty much everything else will be released with 2.3 and Kyocera is probably going to be worse than Samsung with updates.

this has to be an april fools right sprint? enough with the joke! can we see the lg 3d now please?

What a complete, total disappointment and embarrassment! Where are the real smartphones? This is a toy. Sprint has been riding too long on the EVO and Epic and badly needs a new lineup. I'm leaving for Verizon LTE soon. LTE is already live in my market. Sprint, I was counting on you. Let's hope the next few days bring better news from HP or someone else about phones for Sprint.

I registered on this website just to express my sheer hatred for Sprint at this point. This release of a terrible phone will only hurt Sprint's image in the long run. This makes things worse than it already is. You created a mystery press conference featuring David Blaine for this? This phone is miserable. I could buy a 3DS, duct tape a brick to it, and it would be just the same. I'm embarassed.

wow, what a waste

I can see where you were trying to go Sprint. I see the concept you were going for. Unfortunately it didn't work with this pocket weight. It is an "Industry First" First fail of 2011. This must be for users who are new to smartphones right? please say YES

Junk

Ok people are obviously not impressed much by this device, I understand that. Being an early adopter for almost every Sprint phone since the Startac I can say this wasn't what I had HOPED for. Unfortunately I feel like people got into this hype frenzy that was self created. Sprint released one simple invite and imaginations went wild. This probably won't be a hit, but it's at least going to expand the offerings in the competitive world... imagination can now be pushed further... "how can we do what they did, only better" That's how we got the Evo amongst other great devices. The saddest thing about this phone is that it seems impractical to me. Not even a fully functioning dual screen setup. Only 7 apps can utilize it according to the reports. I don't understand how the extra .4 inches would make me want to have the hassle of this phone over the 4.3 inch screen of my Evo. I give Sprint good marks for at least trying, but I think I speak for most when I say they should really invest in some consumer focus groups before they release another phone. Willing to wait til NEXT year even (still holding my EVO) for them to hit another one out of the park. Any more Evo Shift's or Echo's and I'm afraid that all of the ground Sprint has begun to recover will fall from under them.

Sprint released one simple invite and imaginations went wild. Hmm. That's one way of putting it. Another way might be, "Sprint released a cryptic invite with hyperbolic phases like 'industry first' and 'making the impossible possible', and expectations were set. Lesson: If you're going to make a hype addled announcement, you better deliver the goods.

With all due respect, I read only what's on the surface. Been in this game too long to "decrypt" what messages COULD be... Sprint is a business, they aren't the only ones to hype up something to stir the pot. Advertising is a mental game now and they played it. I'm sure there was quite the awesome ad for the Ford Pinto back in it's day, of course Ford wasn't going to tell everyone that the car would explode upon rear impact. People bought into the hype, bought the stupid car because they did as Ford expected. Advertising is simple... "I'll plant the seed, and see what they grow" I mean who REALLY thinks Pepsi Max tastes like regular Pepsi? Yet I'm sure today their sales experienced a little spike after the super bowl ads. The catch is that Pepsi hasn't said that Pepsi Max tastes like regular pepsi... people just got it in their heads that this was the "cryptic message" Lesson: If you're going to buy into the hype, expect disappointment time and time again... Even when info on the "Supersonic" got leaked, I had my hopes, but my hopes didn't drown my intelligence... and when the Evo was released all I could say was "well good job but hopefully xyz come next time"

Let me be more specific. The problem isn't just that Sprint hyped the product, but that they used a level of hype that should only be reserved for products of a certain caliber. Simple hype like, "The only limits are your imagination" or "Magical and revolutionary", are the kind of exaggerations customers expect. But when you start using loaded phrases like "industry first", in the context of a special event announcement, you're kind of playing with fire. Lesson: If you're going to buy into the hype, expect disappointment time and time again. Fair enough, but it's Sprint, not the customer, that's left holding the bag when all is said and done. I had already decided to give Sprint until CTIA to unveil something other than a slider or a jumbophone before switching carriers. I certainly wasn't hanging on the outcome of today's announcement. The Echo would have been a pretty inoffensive phone if it had just been released without being framed as a halo device. It's targeted to the demographic that would've used Sidekicks or Razrs a couple of years ago. But to actually pre-announce this and invite journalists to attend a special event? Like the Instinct (with its iPhone smackdown campaign), Sprint is trying to position the Echo as a device for tech enthusiasts when it simply lacks the necessary geek appeal to deliver the goods.

No that's something we can agree on :-) They can't do this and expect to be taken seriously for long. HOPING CTIA will bring some new love our way. I will say though I am not to the point where i'd jump ship. For now I still like the plans better here than the other carriers. Even small stuff like any mobile any time, and unlimited nights and weekends starting 2 hours earlier than big red or ATT. I'm in a great spot for service so that's not an issue and all the cities I travel to are on 4G to boot. Outside of lack of true revolutionary devices that move at the speed of tech, I can't say going to another carrier, even for a better phone is worth it. Took them a while to get the EVO which still ranks in the top 5 phones for any carrier... HOPING they listen to the consumer and build UP a successful device before it's totally eclipsed.

I'm thinking about switching to T-Mobile for an Optimus 2X or a Nexus S. I want to move away from the limited options on CDMA. I don't need a bleeding edge phone, I do want something more modern than my Hero that's not too thick or too wide. If Spring can fill that void by CTIA, I'll be happy to stick with them. Otherwise, I'm out of here.

Pepsi One is better. Though...Dr.Pepper does advertise legit...their diet really tastes normal and Dr.Pepper TEN slightly more so! :)

What a joke. I was excited about today's announcement. This thing is embarrassing. And is that phone lagging bad in the this demo or is it just me?

Although it has a 1ghz processor, it seems really sluggish, or is it just me. I couldn't imagine this phone would sell very well and maybe Sprint's efforts would be better spent getting 2.2 on my Epic

it does seem really sluggish for a 1 Ghz

Pre-production. (You would think they would have it fine tuned for the show). There was lag. They were probably using a task killer making everything seem worse that it really was. The Gallery pretty much FQ on them, but they should never have been syncing Gallery with Picasa for a show. Thats just begging for trouble.

anyone else on the homepage clicking refresh hoping to see something else from this event.. :(

OMG, the gallery app crashed during the video demo! The aspect ratio for full screen video is whacked. It is extremely thick- about double that of a "regular" phone. Seems sluggish. I doubt it will have timely updates, since it is so "different". The demo guy carefully avoided trying to drag or swipe ACROSS the screens, meaning it is probably not possible.

Couldn't agree more. IF this had dual core and a gig of ram I would be impressed but this? How are you going to run two screens with a 1 ghz and 512 ram? Ill tell u how : sluggishly. So disappointed :~(

1ST GENERATION SNAPDRAGON! 512MB RAM! Over a year old SPECS. SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been with Sprint over 12 years, and this is one of the first new phones that I have no interest in. It is only a novelty, not a must have device. If the phone had a dual core processor, Gingerbread, 3D screen, plus the dual screen, then you might peek my interest. EVO for me till the next great thing comes along.

LOL. The screen response rate was awful in that demonstration. Can that guy say "SO" a few more times? *SMH*

WOW. This is all I can say about this so called "industry first" event. After looking at LGs, HTCs and Verizon iPhone for the past month, this is what Sprint "had up its sleeve"? This is embarrassing to say the least. I have defended Sprint for the past 10 years because of their plans but I can honestly say that they are far behind Verizon and
AT & T in hardware category and from the looks of it after this event, it will stay that way for a while.

Go nintendo DS with built in phone action! I.can already see nintendo ds suing kyocera

I can see a lot of people liking this phone actually. You can either get a dual core that doesn't really help with the functions of the phone at all or get 2 screens that really changes the way you interact with the phone.

Total fail!!! Who wants to watch a video with a big line down the middle? Plus, all the "optimizations" means this phone will never ever get updated. This phone's about as awesome as David Blaine...

More like, who wants to choose between watching a video on a tiny little low-res screen *OR* across two screens with a big stripe in the middle at a nearly SQUARE aspect ratio- so there would be two HUGE black bars on the top and bottom of the "screen".

Yes it sucks! No I would never get this! This doesn't mean there won't be an announcement for a dual core android device!

Anyone else feel like pointing to a doll showing where Sprint violated them?

Best. Comment. Ever. lol

I'm not sure why the hate is to such a fever pitch here. It's at least an interesting device andand not another black slab.

Worst announcement ever. Glad I have an evo that is blazing fast.

well, we will probably see Sprint's CEO on commercials again...this is a joke right?? What a flippin joke for Sprint to have played on people's emotions for what, 2 months, then this is what we see. I would be completely embarrassed. and Kyrocera?? wth, really?

Well, at least we have HP/Palm's amazing announcement to look forward to in a couple of days right? I know you old school Pre owners have a soft spot in your heart for webOS. I like my Evo, but I'd trade it in a second for an amazing webOS product.

OK, I get it that most here don't like this device but why all the negativity. Personally I feel its like a breath for fresh air to see someone thinking outside of the box a little and not just slapping together another black slab. To be honest I am also very underwhelmed with the specs but I applaud their creativity. The only way any manufacturer of Android devices is ever going to capture significant market share is to think out of the box and do something that nobody else has ever done. I dont think this is it but its a step in the right direction. I really cant wait to see what HP/ Palm does because all this Android negativity is really starting to get me down on the Android community.

Has anyone given thought that this isn't going to be Sprint's next flagship phone? That usually doesn't get announced til CTIA.

Sprint usually does its big releases in the summer months. I'm not that surprised that the phone we saw today isn't the major bombshell that most people were hoping for. That said, I do find it surprising that the one phone that's being promoted as a multitasking powerhouse and that, therefore, seems to BEG for a dual core processor doesn't have one. Also, this had best not come loaded with Sprint ID. Seriously. No. Overall: Yeah, it totally feels like Sprint phoned it in for this one (no pun intended...OK, sort of...).

SMH

As I watched the video, I feel that this is a really interesting concept. They need to reduce the bezel on the hinge side so it flows seamlessly together. But in the future, I'm betting we see the folding tablet that becomes a phone. Very near future, in fact. It's the natural convergence of the two devices.

HAHAHAHA Its SO SLOW!!!

I could maybe accept this thing if it had 4g and a ffc. How can sprint at this point release something like this and it not be 4g?????

it'll find a audience and it is what it is. at least it's vanilla and doesn't have some candy iOS looking skin slapped on it.

This seems like a nice reason to switch carriers.. Thanks sprint!!

I like the concept behind this device. I don't know how it would feel in hand or pocket, but I see where they're trying to go and it has potential. This is a user's device. It's not aimed at Android/device übergeeks.

You say it's a "user's device" but tell me, if the phone moves this poorly upon release geek or not that "user" is going to be upset with it.

You're right. If the production model is that slow and crashes on simple tasks like gallery, it will be a major fail. I think conceptually it's brilliant. They just need to work on the execution.

Since it has 2 screens, do I get charged the $10 smartphone charge twice?

Can they at least modify Google maps not to show your location dead center on the hinge. Cool concept but the technology for it is still has not caught up.

I can get a Nintendo DSI at target now...

*Sigh* Nice try sprint...... NEXT! I sure hope Palm has something better for sprint come wednesday. I may be leaving after 9 years.

what a p.o.s. the loading of the gallery had tremendous lag. the entire unit had a bunch of loving lag... now imagine how it would perform after 5 months of use???? D.O.A.

I think you guys are missing the real point of this whole announcement: This already handicapped, behind the curve phone (at least, speaking of the specs) will more than likely have Sprint ID slapped onto an already sluggish UI. Here's hoping things improve, but if they don't I won't mind not buying a phone from Sprint in the near future. (From a salesman with an Evo on a dealer plan.)

This is how It went down: Kyocera goes to sprint and says: "hey you wanna have an industry first? forget all the cool new stuff dual core, 1gb ram, 1900 mah battery, get this a brick with two screens" sprint: "yeah that will be perfect and will hype it up with some magician or something and it will be smash who would want dual core, this will be industry standard!"

I can agree with the disappointment but seriously you will switch companies just because of a phone that's got to be the stupidest thing ever! Also this is not the only phone they will release, this is just January there is lot's of leak phones with no carrier name on it so suck it up. Also every one on sprint complaining about the 10 smartphone charge all the damn companies charge for smart phones so stop the crying if you dont want to pay for it go pre paid and STFU.

You had me going for a minute there, right up to the point where you said this is just January, then it all fell apart.

No, it's not just THIS phone. I'm ready for some dual core processing power and I personally want to go back to webOS. I hope HP has some good news for sprint users on Wednesday. Really I didn't expect anything Palm tonight. As far as this big deal release goes, I was thinking a 3d android device. Not that I care, but at least the kiddos might like a 3d phone. This dual screen square aspect thing is very lack luster though.

How dare Sprint release a phone that I don't like. ANGER!!! GRRRR
Lets go pillage their corporate HQ to express our displeasure in not releasing a phone that doesn't live up to what I want.

LOL

More and more cynical we members become. We are not normal phone owners. We are the ones who people ask for help when phone questions come up. So yeah if it isn't a HTC or Samsung we laugh at how behind it is. That's said, neat idea but nobody buys Kyocera when they are in the know. Sorry I yell at people I help w their phones is they look at them. Cheap. Even worse than LG..owch. the EVO is top dog at sprint and they know it. The EVO will get updated like the iPhone and have a following. EVO will be THE sprint phone for a long time, updated each year. They have a winner and they know it.

@noszero
I totally agree, what I think is sprint was thinking good idea and not realizing that so many people would have bad feedback, I can only imagine how the sprint team of twitter and FB are looking after reading all the unhappy comments. But the phone will sale because no other carrier wants it and teens and women love crappy phones oh and phone who don't know shit about what there buying just like wasting money...

That phone is sluggish I'll just wait for Sprint's iPhone.

So this ia what Microsoft dod with the left over Courier handsets?

This phone is actually the beginning of what's to come by Moto and others. I can see the next big thing being dual screen, but not like this design. More of the same slate phones we are used to but the screen will be able to display dual or all and it will be cleaner. Honeycomb fragments is the beginning. Honeycomb is starting to split within and app, but eventually the hardware along with Android software will allow for 2 apps running at the same time in a split screen on the main screen and it will be seamless (without a black bar running down the middle). Yes this phone will fail, but it is the beginning of something. It is kind of like the Samsung Tab. A complete waste, but somebody had to do it first and now the Xoom is 10 times better. This will be refined and I am sure Moto, HTC, and others are already working on this with either a much better flip design or a seamless slate. I bet Google is also working on software as well. We may be 2 years out, but I think it will happen.

Oh look an inbred NitendoDS.

i for some reason feel almost bad for the guy who has to demo this phone.... i feel like while hes showing the phone hes praying it doesn't freeze or crash or something wrong is going to happen... his voice is gittery like hes embarrassed lmao

Fergie is going to be the rep for this phone, I just know it...or maybe Christina Aguilera?

Phil, it's not a "hands-on" if you're not allowed to touch it. Deleting my earlier correction doesn't change things. What you have here is a "demo."

Thank you, drive through.

Touche. :)

There are some 'firsts' that should just never be! This is one of the worst designed and executed phone concept I have seen for a long time. And the fact that Sprint would make a big deal about it is just plain sad. As so many others have said there will never be any OS upgrades other than to fix the tons of bugs we all know will exist when it is launched. There will be a million app compatibility issues, this and that will crash the phone, won't render correctly, etc. 2.3? 3.0? Never. What were they thinking???

"is there a front facing camera?"
"uhhhhhhhhhhh...., no." How embarrassing.

I sat on pins and needles for over month waiting patiently for this event and I get this. I have been weighing switching to Verizon and this just solidified my reasoning for switching. Wednesday I to Verizon. Peace Sprint. See you when you are bought my Verizon in two years.

I'm not ganna lie its a really cool concept, but did they really have to make an entire event for a non 4G phone and still charge 10 bucks a month extra...

You guys did hear Phil ask the guy if this was a preproduction model right? And the guys response was, yes. That might make sense of the lagging or slowness of the device.

Just saying.

If you need me you can find me in line at Best Buy preordering the Thunder Bolt and leaving Sprint. As this news was coming out I was warming that car to go the Verizon. I went there and messed around with some of there Phones. Sales person told me about the Thunder Bolt. I come back here and find I have to get it at the one store I hate the most. Best Buy. If there is a God please help me. I just want a new phone that works with support from devs.

complete fail with this device its obvious that the snapdragon cant cope with the two screens and doing two different things at the same time

This looks really good to me. Most people who are bashing it, to be honest, are nerds. Normal/nontechy/majority consumers will think this phone is awesome. They will see it the second screen as a benefit for multimedia and use it single screen mode the rest of the time. I myself want better b/c im techie, and want the latest and greatest cpu and max ram. But most people dont look into that when they buy a phone. They will just see the extra value of the second screen when they want to use it.

I know this phone sucks, but threatening to go to Verizon is stupid. Sprint knows the Evo is top-dog. There will be an update. I've tried the Thunderbolt, and there may be a speed-difference for graphics, but it's the same phone without HDMI, and at a ridiculous service cost. You'd have to be insane to jump for that. Wait for a REAL update, folks.

Evo 2 will be the sickness. Just don't if it will come this summer or in 2012.

Have you not read the rumors around lately? 2.4 is for dual core. Evo lacks that. EVO was good 4 months ago. Quit making a dead phone come back to life it's battery can't take it ;)

This may be best feature/multimedia phone ever created. And the worst smartphone ever created.

Whoever is in charge of Sprint's product line and advertising campaigns should be fired or, at least, demoted. How could a company who's spent years trying to catch up not realize that consumers would not be interested in a dual screen phone by a company name no knows and can't even pronounce? I'm guessing the person who brought the Evo to Sprint left for Verizon. Epic fail.

I just can't believe that they drummed up this huge highly anticipated even for this play-thing. Fail, is a huge understatement.

@cubfan: Saying the Thunderbolt is the same phone as the Evo minus HDMI is very silly and ignorant.

what else there to the Thunderbolt then? have you used one?

Aside from the newer Snapdragon, Sense 2.0(barely different) and LTE radio(mandatory difference)..they are basically the same.

Thats like saying what is difference from donut eclair. Your comment is redundant. The evo will never get higher then 2.2 maybe 2.3 if it's lucky. The thunderbolt however will get a nice scoop of ice cream because it's dual-core.

are you out of your mind?! you think the Evo will not get 2.3?! evo is the most successful Android phone ever and you think HTC won't get the update for the Evo?

uhhh... thunderbolt isnt dual core and we don't even know wtf ice cream is yet

sense 2.0 is a huge update in UI. which Evo will have as well

thats what sprint had up its sleeve huh.......thats got to be the ugliest phone ive ever seen

llllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame thank god its on sprint and not verizon.

This is a very interesting concept, but I hope that's not the final revision for it.

it's a BRICK...
clever idea but ... bleh... it'll be interesting to a
very few consumers for a very short time.
overall i'd rather have a nice thin dell streak
or a motorola atrix
YOU NEED HELP SPRINT and this aint it

Really Sprint, how hard is it to get good vanilla Android devices??!! You're making this much harder than it needs to be...

This would have been ok if they just released it without the 'exclusive david blaine event.'This phone is not my cup of tea, because all I want is something similar to the Evo, but with better specs. It is hard when we hear about all these superphones coming out, and then Sprint goes and announces something way out in left field. I feel like HTC used Sprint as a test dummy with the Evo since they are a small network. Plus, Sprint needed to go for broke and hit a home run. Now that people had a positive reaction the big a** screen and nice specs, other carriers are moving in that direction. I just hope Sprint has something for us this summer, or else I will feel left out.

This is a giant FAIL. Nintendo is looking around and asking what the big deal is.... I'd rather have a Nintendo 3DS...

For people that are switching from Sprint to get the Thunderbolt: HAVE YOU SEEN THE EVO!?!?!? We're talking about a phone with primarily the same feature set as the Evo, sans more memory and the new Sense. You're going to spend an extra $20-30 a month for a bigger memory card and htcsense.com?? REALLY??? So what will you all do when the Evo 2 (or whatever it gets named) comes out? And it's (potentially) dual core, with a larger battery and a QHD screen? Will you throw a tantrum about Verizon too??

It has an aluminum unibody, much better built than the Evo. Not to mention, it is Lte, which is spreading like wildfire...coming to my area in 2 months...already being tested. When was the last time you heard about Wimax adding more markets? I had my Evo for 7 months with no 4G. Who knows how long it will be. It does not necessarrily cost more on Verizon. I joined a family plan. Verizon waived the $10 add a line fee. The data plan is $30, with a 20% employer discount. So, I will have a better phone, and be on Lte...and instead of paying Sprint $80/mo, I now pay Verizon $24. Btw, I have the Incredible, until it's time to return it for the Thunderbolt.

Valid points about the LTE coverage, I have been fortunate enough to have in Orange and LA Counties, but I can understand the frustration for those that don't have it. That being said, you aren't really switching for the phone, are you? The savings attached had nearly as much to do with your switch as any other factor. My main point is that the TBolt by itself isn't attractive enough to make a major, two year move. Now, the Bionic on the other hand....

Yes, I switched for the phone. The savings is definitely an extra. It has several things on the Evo, but here are my reasons for wanting it: 1. Aluminum unibody (resembles the nexus one) 2. Lte 3. New gen processor (more power efficient) 4. Improved camera 5. New Sense 6. SRS speakers. I couldn't care less about dual cores. HTC is my brand and style of choice. With HTC, Lte, Verizon, and a cheaper bill...I am a happy man : )

Improved camera? How do you know? It is the same HTC 8 MP sensor / 720P video recorder that the Evo has!

Are you an idiot?! The Thunderbolt does not have aluminum casing. It is largely molded finished plastic, just like the Evo and every other smartphone on the market. Sprint's 4G is so much larger an Verizon's LTE that I can't believe you actually think VZ's coverage will be better, of course you just said the Thunderbolt has a "unibody" aluminum design, so who knows what is going through your head! And when it comes to "unibody" the only truly unibody is the iPhone because it doesn't have ANY detachable pieces, for example a battery cover. The Thunderbolt has that and a kickstand, just like the Evo. The Thunderbolt is no more "unibody" than the Evo! Lastly you are comparing VZ's data plan to Sprint's entire unlimited phone plan! If you took Sprint's $79.99 unlimited plan to Verzion, it would cost you over $100 even with your 20% employee discount! You really need to get your brain checked.

It is an aluminum unibody. The only plastic, is the battery cover. In hands on with the phone, it was pointed out that is has an improved camera lens. Lte is spreading fast. Wimax has stalled. Lte covers huge areas. Sprint's wimax barely reaches outside of the core city...sometimes not even the whole city. Lte is coming here soon, already being tested. I wasn't comparing plans. If you could read and comprehend better than a five year old, you would have known that. I said that it DOES NOT ALWAYS COST MORE ON VERIZON, POINTING OUT THE ADVANTAGE OF JOINING A FAMILY PLAN. The Evo's kickstand works, but it not very sturdy. I suggest you learn a little before spewing biullshit and looking stupid.

Dude you obviously have no clue what unibody refers too! Unibody is defined as "one body" as in carved out of a single block. Clearly the Thunderbolt and Evo are not! iPhone is. Don't know why you are obsessed with this unibody concept. The case is NOT an aluminum block! It may have an sheet metal aluminum skin/veneer, but the body is a molded hard plastic. Sprint's 4G covers over 100 million people nationwide, while LTE doesn't even cover 50 million yet. In every metro include the one I am in Raleigh, NC the entire major city is covered AND suburbs surrounding, like Cary, Apex, ect in my area, are covered!!! Go look at North Carolina's 4G coverage map. What you will see is that that Charlotte and Raleigh, the major metros in the NC, are completely covered AND the neighboring towns are covered to! YOU JUST SPOUT shit about Sprint when u have absolutely no clue!
Every few weeks or so you hear of another metro area being "switched on" for Sprint 4G. Just check AndroidCentral's articles. But yet u say it has "stalled". You have no damn clue. You are just a VZ fanboy that wants to paint VZ devices and their service in a better light. When everyone agrees that the Thunderbolt and the Evo are 99% the same. I would hope that there would be small improvements considering that the Evo came out 8 months ago!

You are so ignorant it is not funny. 1. The Evo and the Thunderbolt are NOT the same, even taking the 4G antenna into consideration.
2. The Thunderbolt IS a unibody. It is you who do not understand what that means.
3. You are the one sprouting shit.
4. The iPhone 4 is not unibody by your definition. The aluminium only constitutes the antenna band around the edges. The top and bottom plates come off Go check ifixit's teardown of the iPhone.

The whole video was a fail. What really annoyed me was when the guy brought up his facebook and twitter. Yes Sprint I am a hyper ADHD child that wants to look at both accounts at once and can't focus on one thing at a time, but oh wait I already have "friendstream" on my HTC Evo. No thanks on this device, I will be patiently awaiting a different device. Remember people Sprint always releases their "big device" in June, Instinct, Pre, and Evo.. all I can do is hope.

Sprint made totally wrong choice this time. Kyocera is one of low end phone brand in Japan.

Ugly or not... it's in fact "The first dual screen smart phone". The phone may not be eye candy but wait till you play with it. If this thing was any thinner, better looking, dual core processor, front facing cam, 4G and had AMOLED display.....I'd be like $400 on contract.

Kyocera isn't exactly known for high-end or even good phones. Looks like they are more than happy to keep that trend alive and well.

This will probably end up on Virgin Mobile :P

It's an interesting concept, although not my cup of tea. I wouldn't give up my beloved EVO for this. I do think Sprint is onto something here though. In my opinion I believe that in the coming years phones like this will be more of a norm than a novelty. Phones become a bigger part of our day to day lives every year and people in turn want their phones to be able to do more and more. They wanna be able to take their lives wherever they go, be able to do everything that they can do at home on the go. That's how we ended up with laptops. And as the convergence between phones and computers continues I see phones like this becoming more popular. Everyone isn't going to want to carry tablets and phones. Some might want the functionality of a computer on their phones but may still want more real estate than what phones offer and devices like this may fill that void. That being said, the vitriolic comments from some of you in here is absolutely insane. Some of you sound personally offended like Sprint and Kyocera slapped your mother or ran over your pet or stole your wife/girlfriend lol. You need to be mindful of a few things. First, it's not a finished product. I'm sure the sluggishness and force closings would be addressed before this thing hit the general public. No company would send out something that buggy, especially after all hoopla they've made about it. Next, u have to realize that while people like you who seem to live and die with technology make up probably 98% of the users on sites like this you are still a minority when it comes to overall cellphone users. Most people like my mother for example just want a simple phone that allows them to reliably communicate, she likes my talking gps, video chat, email capability, camera and camcorder and the ability to search for things pretty much instantaneously and show her funny clips on the web but no way in a million yrs would she own an EVO herself. The next segment of people buy stuff because it looks nice. They dont care about specs or software updates or vanilla android or dual cores etc. My girlfriend has an Epic and has no clue about eclair, froyo, gingerbread, honeycomb, flash 10.1 etc. All she knows is that her phone does what she wants and looks nice doing it. The segment of people who really know and care about all this stuff are a minority in the big picture. At the end of the day its about making money & businesses make money by appealing to the masses not to the minority. So everyone needs to lighten up, its just a phone. You may not like it, but who cares? It will find a niche somewhere. It probably wont sell like the Evo, but there's a big enough population of people out there who are obsessed with having the newest, cool looking gadget that this will probably make some $$ for Sprint. Its all about the bottom line and if Sprint didn't feel that they could make money from this it wouldn't be out. And as far as all the smartphone gurus out there, relax. I'm sure there's some spectacular phones in the pipeline, whether evo2, epic2 or some brand new game changer. They've seen the enormous popularity of those phones and they'd be quite foolish to let them die.

Wth happened yesterday? Sprint was making a serious comeback with the push of Android and Evo and then this? Wth.....I'm actually angry at Sprint. Everyone in the industry knows that a short battery life is one of the biggest complaints in a Smartphone. So why add another screen that will kill a battery faster than you can type, "where's froyo for my epic." HP you need to come out on Feb 9th....tell Sprint how not to be retarded and release something that will make us clap, say wow, and need a second pair of pants. This is 2011....2011...2011...have to say it 3 times because Sprint you don't have time for this nonsense.

Needs a front facing cam, looks plasticky and cheap, and looks sluggish! No thank you...althought I REALLY like the concept. Its a great idea, they just didn't put quality behind its product.

I really don't see this as a complete fail - quite an advancement actually. Kyocera though? Please don't F~!!!!!!N waste my time! But a very interesting concept - the idea will most likely bridge the concept of a mobile phone + tablet pc in ONE - which I think is a pretty decent idea. Everything in one place? Hell Yeah! Less syncing to be done? Hell Yeah! Just let this concept play itself out into a more apt manufacturers hands - and it should be a success. I could see a tri-screen layout to fully meet the size of a tablet - and coupled with the long-awaited advancements in battery technology - seems like a good start to me. Hold thumbs up people.

I wish that it would of been the Atrix insted of this ugly phone

This is for people who like sliders...but not physical keyboards? It's for people who like tablets...with big lines in the middle? It's for smartphone users...who don't need dual-cores, ffcs, or 4g? It's running the second (soon to be third) most recent version of android, with little hope of an update due to its unique design...and it's an industry first. This phone is an abortion.

Well that phone is craptacular!!! I currently have an EVO and Im ready to jump ship due to the overall laggyness and freezing that I deal with on a daily basis. Sprint needs to stop wasting everyones time with DOA phones and get Gingerbread on the EVO!! I would be shocked if more than 50 of these are sold. Between the $800 Xoom and this horssh*t its a sad week in gadget history......

Well, I'm surprised at seeing all the negativity but I think it's largely (not completely, but largely) due to Sprint over-hyping this and people having too high of expectations. I wasn't disappointed in the phone, although I'm not interested in it. I WAS, however, surprised when this was the only announcement made. When the event ended, I literally said aloud, "That's it?" I thought it was just the beginning. So yeah, it was hyped and built up and it failed to live up to expectations. But switching carriers over it?! I don't get it. Just, you know... don't buy it. There are plenty of phones coming. And if one comes out on another carrier that you fall in love with, then by all means, switch! It's great that we have such choices. But I don't understand switching to another carrier because the one you're on (in this case, Sprint) releases one phone that you hate/loathe/despise. /Kevin

It's not about switching carriers over this one phone, but switching due to a lack of good phones in general. Last night's presentation was just the last straw for many people. Verizon is getting the Thunderbolt and the iPhone. AT&T is getting the Atrix. There's nothing comparable that's ostensibly coming to Sprint. They just don't have the leverage to get OEMs to make a compelling CDMA smartphone that they can't also sell to Verizon. I'm waiting to see what Sprint announces between MWC and CTIA, but if they don't come out with something other than a slider that's too thick, or a jumbophone that's too wide, I'll switch to T-Mo and go for an Optimus 2X or a Nexus S.

This phone's gonna be Sprint's version of the Kin; or maybe even the Foleo.

I just can't believe that they have a big press event just for this horrible phone. This phone isn't even a dual core and is already outdated. I was expecting them to announce some type of dual core phone...maybe the EVO 2? If Sprint doesn't have some type of dual core phone coming soon they will be losing me as a customer.

I really like the idea of this phone. It's like a dell streak folded in half. Unfortunately, it doesnt run like one, only having the capability to run 7 apps with the dual screen mode. IF this phone becomes popular enough to have another one made (like an Echo2) I can see it being a more popular phone because there will be more apps made to run on it properly and it will have a worthy processor and hopefully Honeycomb. Unfortunately that means the day that this phone is really worth buying is not going to happen for another year or so.

Totally awesome concept! Now let's do one with Tegra 2, front facing camera, 4 inch dual screens, and a DS emulator! :)

Why would an app developer possibly re-write an entire app just to support this hardware configuration? I wonder if it will even be able to correctly display the simplest of apps? This is one fragmented pos.

Great concept terrible execution.... its basically just a nintendo ds that runs android and can make calls... sorry but its way to thick and doesn't have a big enough battery or cpu to keep this going efficiently the whole day... They are going somewhere though...

this should have been a prototype for someone to pick up and make it better this is a good idea and that all. old hardware

Sprint please stop with the second hand efforts and get the iphone or the Dell streak with android 2.3. Then you will be in the fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ecoterik: Lte covers 120 million. May I point you to Verizon's website? Over half the US will be covered by June. Sprint's Wimax has stalled..Every few weeks? LMAO. They have only lit up one market since November...SanFran. It is a unibody. You are obviously the one that needs to research it. I didn't pull it out of my ass. I just switched from Sprint and the Evo. The fact that you think the Evo and Thunderbolt are 99% the same shows how stupid you are. Get educated on the devices, then get back to me tim6253@gmail.com
Your stupidity and misrepresentation of facts is appaling.

One thing to say about this crap: LOL.