News & Reviews:   YotaPhone

Highscreen has announced a new phone in the market called the Highscreen ICE 2 which features dual displays, much like the Yotaphone models. Although the brand is not famous internationally, it is owned by a well-known German company called Vobis Computers and has been operating in Russia for the past 5 years selling products like tablets, notebooks and other accessories. Unlike the Yotaphone 2, the ICE 2 features a tiny secondary display beside the rear camera which can deliver small pieces of information like incoming calls, text messages, notifications, weather updates and the time. Another highlight of the device is the notification light on the home button which can be configured with up to seven different colors for each app notification. Other tech specs include a 1.7 GHz octa-core Mediatek MT6592 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage with MicroSD expansion, 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 pixel HD display, 13MP Sony rear camera and 2MP front camera. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS and comes with a 2550 mAh capacity battery onboard. The Highscreen ICE 2 dual screen smartphone will go on sale in Russia for $250 (RM962) in three colors – white, blue and grey. No details about Malaysia release dates or pricing so far.

We first covered the Yotaphone with it's energy efficient e-ink display on the back when it came out back in 2013 but this 4.3-inch display smartphone is finally here in Malaysia. Retailing at RM1699 the price tag is lower than it's initial pricing of RM2133 back in Russia but bear in mind that it isn't the latest Yotaphone version coming to Malaysia. Instead of the Yotaphone 2, Malaysia will be getting the Yotaphone 1 which has received a refresh of sorts with a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. Other tech specs and features include 2GB of RAM, 32GB storage, 4.3-inch display at 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, a 4.3-inch E-ink display at 640 x 360 pixel resolution, 13MP rear camera with LED flash, 1MP front camera and 1800 mAh battery. Check out more details and videos in this article.

The YotaPhone has been officially announced by Russian company Yota Devices. The smartphone features dual displays, one a 4.3-inch colour LCD display and the other a 4.3-inch e-ink display. Other tech specs and features include a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB storage, 13MP rear camera, LTE connectivity, 1800 mAh battery and Android 4.2.2. While the e-ink display does increase battery life, the Yota phone also includes a system that moves the heat inside the phone away from the e-ink display which is sensitive to heat. The phone is still quite thick though at 9.99mm and weighs a hefty 146g. It will be priced for €499 (RM2188) but is only available in Russia and selected European countries for now. No Malaysia release dates just yet but we should expect the YotaPhone to arrive globally (and hopefully Malaysia) sometime in 2014.