5 of the most unconventional Android devices ever launched
Due to its open nature, Android is the perfect operating system for companies to integrate on innovative, unconventional devices. Although most modern devices fail to differentiate themselves in terms of features, it turns out that the history of the Android ecosystem is full of unusual smartphones and tablets.
In this article, we'll take a look at the 5 best unconventional Android devices ever launched. Do note that the devices are not listed in any particular order, and that this is far from being an exhaustive list of the unconventional droids.
Feel free to drop us a comment in the section below and talk about the unconventional devices that you favor.
Kyocera Echo
Back in 2011, Kyocera decided that a phone with just one screen can get boring fast. Enter the Kyocera Echo, the world's first dual-screen smartphone.
The Kyocera Echo - available in the US as a Sprint exclusive - came with two separate 3.5-inch displays that could be used either together or independently. For instance, you could make the two displays work in tablet mode, where they function as a single 4.7-inch screen. Alternatively, the user could run two distinct apps on the two displays, one of the first shots at true multitasking on a smartphone.
Although an innovative device, the Android 2.2 Froyo-based Kyocera Echo was plagued by poor battery life, an awful build quality, and tons of lag. For more details about the handset, make sure to check out our Kyocera Echo review.
Since we're at the dual-screen segment of this article, it should be noted that, just months after the Echo was launched, Sony came along and introduced the Sony Tablet P, the first dual-screen tablet.
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
Samsung, as one of the world's leaders in mobile display technology, is heavily invested in curved-screen smartphones, having launched a bunch of them in the past couple of years. The first curved-screen Samsung phone was the Samsung Galaxy Round, a high-end phone with beastly specs and a horizontally curved display. The Galaxy Round was the first of its kind, but it was also a limited-edition phone that only few people were able to get their hands on.
Sharp RoBoHon
Unconventional doesn't even begin to describe the Sharp RoBoHon, essentially a small, cute robot that's also a smartphone.
Unlike any other smartphone, the Sharp RoBoHon is designed to act much like a humanoid assistant. Although the RoBoHon is operated primarily through voice commands, it also comes with a tiny display that can be used just like any Android smartphone. The RoBoHon can even follow you around a bit, and also integrates a pico-projector, just like the next device on our list.
The Sharp RoBoHon will launch in Japan during the first half of 2016. We know we're interested in the odd experiment, how about you?
Samsung Galaxy Beam
Although smartphone displays have evolved towards larger form factors - hello, phablets! - over the past few years, the limited screen real estate usually restricts our experience when it comes to watching movies and shows in the company of friends and family. Back in 2011, Samsung came up with a partial solution to this constraint, and launched the Galaxy Beam, the world's first smartphone to integrate a pico-projector.
For more details about the pros and cons of the handset, head on over to the full Samsung Galaxy Beam review.
LG G Flex
We've already talked about curved-screen smartphones, but it turns out that Samsung's cross-town rival, LG, has quite a unique and unconventional phone series as well. The original LG G Flex landed back in 2013 with two very unconventional features: an horizontally-curved display that can actually flex (hence the name) as well a back cover that can automatically heal from minor scratches.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: