From Russia With Android: Dual-Screen Smartphone Prototype

A Russian company plans to spice up the Android formula with a smartphone that has screens on the front and back sides.

As you can see in this YouTube video, a representative from Russian Technologies gave a hands-on look at the device to none other than Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president.

Unfortunately, the phone isn’t actually working in the video, and it looks like one of the screens is just a plastic mock-up at this point. I don’t speak Russian, but I could make out the word “prototype” uttered three times in a row at the one-minute mark.

Russian news website NewsBCM has more details: It’s a 4G phone, intended to run on Yota’s LTE networks. The handset is made in Taiwan and is expected to launch in May 2011 at the earliest. No word on why the screens are slightly curved.

If the dual-screen smartphone can actually be made in Taiwan, and is not pure fantasy, I’d expect a more prominent handset maker to bring the technology stateside, but that assumes people would want a smartphone with two screens to begin with. A rear screen with E-Ink, as speculated by some reports, would minimize additional drains on battery life, and could be useful for outdoor reading, but it’s hardly essential.

Frankly, I just want to see more phones shaped like boomerangs, dual-screen or otherwise.