Just last week Sprint sent out an email to the press inviting them to a special event where they will release an “Industry First.” The internet went crazy with rumors as to exactly what this industry first could be. Was it a 4G iPhone? Probably not, all Android sites were invited to the event. Now we may have a little bit more information as to exactly what it could be – a dual-screen Android tablet.

According to someone apparently close to the matter, the announcement will be a device and will feature the following:

  • It has large screens- think somewhere between the Evo and the Galaxy Tab.
  • It actually has dual screens- there’s a primary one but then also a secondary screen that flips up from the back, like on a hinge.
    • No word on what that second screen does, if it integrates with the primary screen to give you one big screen, or if you can run an app on each, or what. Sorry I couldn’t get more details.
  • No official word on if it’s voice-capable, or if it’s some kind of tablet/slate.

Also of note, HTC has been in the headlines supposedly preparing a 3D device. Could this be the device? Two screens for a 3D effect? If so, this would even tie in with the whole David Blaine theme of illusions, eye tricks, etc.

What do you think? Could this be a dual-screen tablet? Would a dual-screen tablet be a viable option in the competitive market? Let us know!

[Via Android Central Forums]

28 COMMENTS

  3. My guess is the enTourage Edge…a dual screen android device. Left side is a reader on which you can annotate or make notes on what you may be reading..great for students, bible study, or self-improvement. Can also open journals for more extensive writing. Right side is a tablet. I love it so far. I have the 7″ Pocket Edge, also comes in a 10″ .

  5. i think that it could, could.
    be a phone with a really amazing slide out mechanism. but instead of a keyboard, it just seamlessly fits to go from a 4.5 inch phone, to a 8.5 inch tablet. it would not be that hard to do, and would be amazingly useful.

    the HTC phones are awesome, and imagining having not only an amazing HTC phone in my pocket but also being able to seamlessly transform into a tablet would blow my mind. imagine just 2 Capacitave touch screens that go to the edge and then meet perfectly at the slide out area. i was very impressed at how thin the HTC G2 was, and i think this would knock it right out of the park.

    i have done phone apps and they are really awesome for what they provide, but i have also used the samsung Galaxy tab, and let me tell you that it is amazing.

    i tried NOVA, the only real FPS that i have tried, and it was so easy to use on the Galaxy tab, because the touch FPS controls were easy and felt comfortable. they took up far too much room and felt ackward on even the Evo, but on the galaxy tab it took up a very small amount of screen real estate and still managed to basically be in the lower left and right corners, which is usually the floor that you are already walking on so there is nothing to really look at or shoot at anyways.

    i thought the Galaxy tab was the first portable gaming solution where i really felt comfortable.

    now the ability to have a slide out tablet and utilize the advantages of it are amazing.

    i mean honestly, think about it… illusion, dual screens, one screen is larger than the other. it is right in between the EVO and Galaxy tab.

    ill tell you that gaming is only a drop in the bucket for what this tablet could do.

    try Sprint TV on a beautiful 4G tablet that has a kickstand. imagine premiering it playing the SuperBowl footage from the night before on Sports center with a beautiful 4G telecast.

    it would impress the hell out of me and everyone i know, and i would by it the first day it came out.

    • While that is perhaps the coolest idea I’ve heard of for a tablet/phone hybrid, there are two reasons I cannot expect this to be true:

      1) The battery life. Unless the thing is a brick, it won’t last longer than a laptop (forget netbook life). For a phone, it would never work, regardless of the productivity benefits.
      2) It’s still a secret. Something that unusual would be very hard to not even hear rumors about. Even without pictures, there would be talk.

      I’d rather be wrong because I would pay premium for such a device. But let’s be real here; how many people really will buy a folding tablet as their phone?

  7. Considering that Sprint only has 3 4G phones and once the Bionic hits Verizon the EVO and Epic will be outdated, I think it could be a dual tablet and a 3D, dual core smartphone. Those two devices could be industry firsts.

  9. Sorry but the evo might not be new but its hardware is still up to date, aslong as gingerbread and new sense hd are put out
    The evo will still be viable, but if i was in market for an upgrade i wouldnt pick the evo.

  10. If there are no phones that will compete with offerings coming out from Verizon and At&t, then this whole event will be a bust. A two screen tablet? What practical function will that have and why would I be compelled to buy it over other, more rational possibilities? I’m a Sprint customer and have enjoyed Sprint, but with all 3g phones getting a $10 bump in monthly cost after we upgrade, they can’t afford to not give us better devices that will compete with the likes of the Atrix, Bionic, and Nexus S. The Evo in 6 months just won’t cut it.

  11. I honestly don’t think that Sprints Big Announcement will be over a dual screen tablet. Sprint knows that with the coming of the IPhone to Verizon they need to do something to sway the subscribers itching to move from their current carrier over to Verizon, so in order to do that some strategy came into play. 1. they HAD to make the super secret announcement 3 days prior to the release of the Iphone. 2. They had to keep all production info a secret from everyone in order to entice everyone including the would be new Verizon customers. 3. It has to be Better, faster, and with way more new innovative enhancements in order to be a TRUE Industry first. With that said would a Iphone coming to sprint fit this category??? Probably not, although id like to just carry around just 1 device. So what could it be?? I think its going to be along the lines of a Wimax2 capable smartphone running android 2.3 with a dual core processor. What do you think???

    • I hope it as a dual core from HTC. It’s time for my husband to upgrade and he is holding out for dual core:). I think 3-D is a cool concept, but not very practical from a battery life standpoint. I read somewhere else,(can’t remember where) that the prediction is a dual screen phone with a hinge in the center. I would rather just have the dual core processors, but the dual screen might satisfy the urge to buy a tablet, as well as a new phone.

  12. I honestly don’t think that Sprints Big Announcement will be over a dual screen tablet. Sprint knows that with the coming of the IPhone to Verizon they need to do something to sway the subscribers itching to move from their current carrier over to Verizon, so in order to do that some strategy came into play. 1. they HAD to make the super secret announcement 3 days prior to the release of the Iphone. 2. They had to keep all production info a secret from everyone in order to entice everyone including the would be new Verizon customers. 3. It has to be Better, faster, and with way more new innovative enhancements in order to be a TRUE Industry first. With that said would a Iphone coming to sprint fit this category??? Probably not, although id like to just carry around just 1 device. So what could it be?? I think its going to be along the lines of a Wimax2 capable smartphone running android 2.3 with a dual core processor. What do you think???

  13. interesting… if that’s indeed the case, perhaps someone can add a Nintendo DS emulator to the list of game emulators available for Android? lol… of course, they would have to wait until the retirement of the DS (for legal reasons), and i guess they technically could already do that with the current galaxy tab if they just divide the screen up…

  14. A 3-D screen on a tablet is not an industry first, T-Mobile already is there.

    http://gizmodo.com/5749495/lg-g+slate-a-dual+core-android-honeycomb-tablet-packed-full-of-3d-tech

    I’d really be disappointed if Sprint holds such a big event over a tablet…I really could care less personally. Also taking into account that the date of this even seems to be specifically timed just a few days before the big Verizon iPhone release and that all of the major Android community websites were invited, I really would expect a dual-core Android device perhaps with some kind of 3-D display. The 3-D aspect of whatever this upcoming device is pretty universally expected now.

    I am no insider here, but like I said…a tablet wouldn’t really be that exciting for me. Who honestly uses those anyways?

    • Tablets are the wave of the future… sales are going to increase 1000% over the next few years. There is a “cool new phone” announced every week, but i was hoping it would be something more creative

  17. I think it will be WebOS Device. New PalmPre and tablet. The UI for the OS does it’s multitasking with “cards” which, to me, ties in David Blane. We’ll see.

  19. If that is the big hype around this annoucement im really leaving SPRINT and im going to Verizon for the IPHONE…. No android out there is better than the iphone

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