YotaPhone 2 review: advantages and disadvantages

Many of us were eagerly waiting for a review in this regard the smartphone with two touch screens, arranged on the front and back of the case, YotaPhone 2. The terminal offers a welcome breath on the market of Android phones because it offers easy access to notifications and basic functions, delegating certain tasks to the secondary screen, which must not be turned off to save battery.

If we look at the front of the smartphone, YotaPhone 2 reminds us of the devices in the series Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3. The case, without the manufacturer's logo, has rounded shapes and is carefully finished. A small disadvantage is the slippery material on the back of the case, which makes the phone difficult to handle with one hand. The front screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 shield, which gives the impression of a solid construction, also confirmed by the plastic casing which is pressure resistant. The big advantage is the application of very good quality oleophobic and anti-reflection treatment, the fingers sliding on the touch surface with a minimum of effort and without leaving hard-to-remove fingerprints.

The back cover of the smartphone offers us an atypical design: a transparent panel with a matte finish under which a ecran E-ink with a fairly generous surface, provided with its own touch interface. The screen is slightly curved towards the edges, adapting to the case narrowed on the side.

Along with the unconventional design, YotaPhone 2 comes with a non-removable battery. Main camera remained in the traditional location on the back of the case, instead the speakers were moved to the lower side next to micro USB port to make way for the E-ink screen. The Power button and volume rocker are placed on the right side of the case and are easy to operate using the opposite finger, even if you use the phone with one hand. The volume flap doubles as a slot for nano-SIM card, accessible by inserting a key included in the accessories package.

Obtaining a case only 8.95 mm thick and weighing 145 grams is a fabulous achievement, if we take into account the fact that YotaPhone 2 is available with two touch screens.

Having a flexible construction and a low weight, the device comes with a 2500 mAh battery, with a platform with chipset Snapdragon 800 and 2 GB RAM memory. Also, the internal memory is 32 GB.

The AMOLED screen can display images with a 5" diagonal, using a 1920×1080 resolution and a color palette of 16 million colors. Secondary screen, negligible in terms of battery consumption, measures 4.7" and can compose monochrome images using 960×540 resolution. Optimized for the function of “electronic paper", the secondary screen uses the ambient light in the room and can display static images without consuming the battery reserve. A small disadvantage is the fact that the E-ink screen is not visible in total darkness.

YotaPhone 2 comes with the version Android 4.4.3, and Adreno 330 graphics processor, filmare video Full HD anyone SIM.

Unfortunately, the screen with E-ink technology has some weak points that cannot be easily overlooked. The lag effect pronounced makes it difficult to scroll through lists of messages and to interact quickly using touch commands. It is another rather unpleasant aspect the ghosting effect left after updating the content displayed on the screen, felt in the form of shadows that reflect the content displayed before.

The secondary screen, managed with the help the Yota Manager application, has three main working modes: lock screen with support for notifications and displaying photos from the image gallery, shortcut-s for accessing the phone function, SMS messaging, email and Android notification alert and homescreen containing weather widget. To save battery life while reading books in electronic format, you can use the shortcuts mode.

Regarding the main screen, it uses a density of 440 ppi, the clarity of the displayed images reaching the standards of top smartphones. Although it has the extremely generous viewing angles and the excellent black level as its assets, the main screen disappoints with the faulty calibration of the color temperature, adjusted according to the brightness and the type of displayed content.

Turning now to the review of the camera, it must be specified that it has a resolution of 8 MP, system autofocus and blitz LED without claims. The lack of HDR can cause a "dark" capture of certain areas of the photo. We have to take into account the fact that YotaPhone 2 is a basic subcategory of pocket cameras. Regarding the filming function, it offers very good results, compression algorithm used offering good preservation of details.

The device, launched in December 2014, has a rather steep price: 3000 lei in retail package.

In conclusion, YotaPhone 2 is a good accessory for reading e-books and a perfect support for text message lovers. The presence of a secondary screen offers the possibility of visibly saving battery life, but the terminal is somewhat disadvantaged by its rather sober exterior and its high price.