Most modern smartphones have got two cameras, and some have even got space for two SIM cards, but very few have two screens. The Siam 7x is a new crowd-funding project for a smartphone that has all three of those features, and the company says it’s the first to introduce dual-screen technology to smartphone buyers in North America.
Updated on 11-06-2015 by Andy Boxall: Added in news the Siam 7x was removed from Kickstarter, and re-emerged on Indiegogo
Kickstarter campaign ends, Indiegogo begins
The Siam 7x initially started out as a Kickstarter project, but was removed following a copyright claim against the phone’s rear E-Ink display. The company provided Digital Trends with the following statement, saying:
“The Kickstarter campaign for the Siam 7x smartphone has been suspended due to a minor copyright infringement issue with the spelling of its E-Ink display feature. We have quickly resolved the issue and have re-launched the crowdfunding campaign for Siam 7x dual-screen smartphone. This will not affect our promise to deliver the smartphone to backers in early December.”
Except this time, the crowd-funding campaign has relocated to Indiegogo, and can be found here. The deals appear to be identical, and the specs of the phone remain the same.
Why two screens?
The idea is to make multitasking easier, and to ensure we have crucial information instantly visible on our phones, something it achieves with a normal IPS touchscreen on the front and an E-Ink touch panel on the rear. While Siam may be the first to introduce such a device to the U.S., we’ve seen this technology before on the Yotaphone and Yotaphone 2 — the latter of which had its U.S. release plans cancelled.
Viewed from the front, the Siam 7x definitely has a design reminiscent of an iPhone, but that all changes when you flip it over to see the second screen. The 720p front screen measures 5-inches, while the 960 x 540 pixel E-Ink rear screen is slightly smaller at 4.7-inches. A MediaTek octa-core processor with an unknown amount of RAM powers the phone, there’s a 16-megapixel camera on the back, and an 8-megapixel camera on the front.
The rear screen shows notifications, and supports little widgets for functions including the weather, music controls, and you calendar. It also works for reading ebooks, and for displaying maps. Android Lollipop is displayed on the front screen, and from the screenshots it does have a custom user interface over the top. Other Siam 7x features include a 2100mAh battery, 4G LTE connectivity, dual-SIM support, an FM radio, and Bluetooth 4.0.
If the dual-screen concept doesn’t get your blood pumping, then Siam’s Kickstarter benefits may do. Back the project for $420 and not only do you get the phone and a case, but you also get a lifetime warranty and a free upgrade to the next Siam phone. That’s the same with the $470 option, which also comes with a 32GB MicroSD card and a pair of heart rate monitoring earbuds. Pay $480, and the Siam 7x also comes with three months unlimited service in the U.S. provided by Jolt Mobile or Lyca Mobile.
The project is live on Indiegogo now, with a $50,000 target. If it gets funded, the good news is backers won’t have to wait years for the phone to arrive, as Siam says deliveries will take place from December this year. Despite the focus on the U.S. market in the campaign blurb, the Siam 7x will ship anywhere in the world.