YotaPhone 2, Russian Dual-Screen Smartphone That Putin Presented To Xi Jinping, To Go On Sale In China

YotaPhone, a Russian dual-screen smartphone that President Vladimir Putin presented to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in November, will be available in the Chinese market from April, Vladislav Martynov, the CEO of Yota Devices, announced Monday.

The company will launch YotaPhone 2, the latest model of the device, in mid-April in partnership with Potevio, a local state-backed equipment provider, Martynov said at the Boao Forum in China’s southernmost province of Hainan, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

“It is made in China and will be on sale next month,” Martynov said of the smartphone, which was first launched in December.

Although YotaPhone 2 will go on sale in China next month, Hong Kong’s mobile phone network operator 1010 has been promoting the smartphone among its existing customers for the past few weeks. The operator has also offered the phone for free with its subscription packages.

The YotaPhone 2 features a 4.7-inch rear display that comes with an electronic-ink screen, which provides notifications for social media updates, text messages, maps, weather and breaking news. The screen also works as a small e-book reader.

“The phone stands out not because two screens is better than one, but because the second screen serves users in many fundamental ways,” SCMP quoted Martynov, as saying. “Conventional screens don't work well in the sun, but with the second screen you can read easily on the beach.”

The phone, which sports a 5-inch AMOLED display, is also claimed to consume less battery than many other smartphones available in the market. The handset runs on Android operating system, and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor.

YotaPhone 2 is sold for 550 pounds ($825) in the U.K., but it is not clear how it will be priced in China. The company hopes that Putin’s presidential endorsement will help trigger the phone's sales in the Chinese smartphone market.