Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Tech Firm Yota Working on Dual-Screen Tablet

A YotaPhone smartphone, which was first launched in December 2013, has a standard LCD screen on one side, and an e-ink screen on the other side.

Russian electronics firm Yota Devices has created a new tablet device, Sergei Chemezov, the head of state technology holding Rostec, told newspaper Vedomosti in an interview published Monday.

"We are working on a tablet. I've already seen it," Chemezov said, adding that one of the Yota Tablet's novel features is the ability to charge a YotaPhone smartphone. Rostec, a massive state conglomerate heavily invested in the defense industry, owns a 25 percent stake in Yota.

Yota first announced it was considering entering the tablet market earlier this year, but so far details on the project are scarce.

In January, Yota Devices CEO Vladislav Martynov said the tablet would likely be expensive, since it would feature screens on both sides of the device. The company's YotaPhone has the same feature and retails for 33,990 rubles ($640), or around the same as the most basic version of Apple's newest iPhone, the iPhone 6.

YotaPhone, which was first launched in December 2013, is a smartphone with a standard LCD screen on one side, and an energy-saving e-ink screen on the other side. E-ink screens are typically featured on e-reader devices such as the Amazon Kindle.

The timing of the project may be inconvenient, however. The number of tablets shipped to Russia dropped 40 percent drop in the first quarter of 2015 as Russia's economic crisis lowered real incomes, news agency RBC reported in mid-May, citing data from analytics firm IDC. 

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more