Yota Devices’ dual-screen phone will finally be rolling out internationally before Christmas.

The YotaPhone first came to our attention late last year when it was introduced by the Russian company.  What makes it unique is the dual-screen that promises to deliver 50 percent more battery life.  Farfetched?

Not entirely.  You see the main screen is a 4.3” LCD screen, while the one on the flip-side is an E-Ink screen, akin to most e-readers you find. E-Ink screens do not consume anywhere near as much power as LCDs, thus e-readers last for days, while tablets and smartphones only last you hours, or if you’re really lucky, perhaps a whole day.  The point of having two screens is that you can manage which information shows up on which screen.  So you can set the E-Ink side to show you the time, date, read the news, get calls, read emails and text messages, then all the other stuff, like gaming or tinkering with apps on the LCD side.

“This will be the first time that people will be able to personalize the information they want to receive on their phones in an effortless way,” said Vlad Martynov, CEO of Yota Devices, in previous a statement.

“You tell YotaPhone what information you want and when you want it. It becomes your personal assistant reminding you of what’s important to you.”

The international launch before Christmas is the good news, the bad news is, the company is keeping mum about the price.  Some have priced the device at around €500, which is a bit steep, considering the device’s specs – a 4.3” LCD with 720×1280 resolution, a Snapdragon 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1800 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage space, and a 12MP camera. Admittedly, these features that are bit behind some of the latest high end smartphones in the market today, in part due to the lengthy delay between the phone’s creation and its international release.

This huge interval between the preview and the actual release may have done the YotaPhone more harm than good.  First off, will a second screen really make the device more enticing to consumers, especially when there are now companion devices, such as fashionable and functional smartwatches, that do more or less the same thing?  And would having two screens on a device really be wise?  Aren’t you just making the risk of owning a smartphone higher?  Two screens to worry about getting scratched, cracked or damaged? Plus, wouldn’t it have been better if the YotaPhone was a dual-SIM device?  So you can delegate one side for personal stuff and the other for work-related things?  Just a thought.

Still, there have been many quirky gadgets that have been a success, simply because they are quirky.  So there may yet be hope for the YotaPhone this Christmas :)