ZTE Axom M – A phone with dual screen
The China-based mobile maker, ZTE launched a very different phone. Well, phones get launched all the time around the world. Why would something launching in China be any of my business? It’s cause the ZTE Axon M has dual screen. No casting or multiwindow but using an actual hinge to hook up the two screen together. There were rumors flying around about this for a couple of past months. But it seems something I would see in the 2000s. When flip phones were a thing. This feels like I’ve time traveled (haven’t I?).
The phone is what a flip phone would’ve looked like today. It gives a larger display to the user without the inconvenience of a tablet. You can use both screens as one or two separate screens. Hell, watching GOT could’ve been better with this.
Why ZTE Axom M is so important
What really stands out here is that the company who tried this is a budget phone maker. Doing something new nowadays seems like a thing for big players only. And budget ones should try to fit in those features by making some other compromises. It was a well-planned move. Or everything got together on its own as put by one of the ZTE’s executives. The phone was made on the request of Japanese Carrier NTT Docomo.
I really REALLY hope they fix some small issues to make it BIG. It feels almost like an eternity in the smartphone market that any mediocre company tried to do something on its own at it works. For new innovations, we wait for all the big shots to do it, and then some wait for budget phones to adapt it. So they can buy it, still not overspending. You can get this one via AT&T at $24 payments for 30 months.
ZTE Axom M is “Bending” the smartphone trend
The current trends seem to focus on making phones slimmer and removing anything that can be. The headphone jack was the first victim of this trend. Started by the Apple’s iPhone 7, which started a huge debate whether this did more good or damage? There are even innovations for foldable phones. Lenovo has shown that the concept is workable. Samsung has even released a concept vid, almost a year ago showcasing the possibility. Well, I do admit that ZTE Axon M would be a lot sexier if it has the foldable tech. But it is the starting step.
Not the first time for dual display phones
It’s not the first time that phones fashioned hinges sticking two pieces together. I mentioned flip phones earlier. The more recent one in my mind was in 2011. The Kyocera Echo, which Sprint launched in its event of the year, even a magician performed tricks with it. Though, after stripping it from all the glimmer, it was a bulky and laggy phone. The margins on the screen were too big. It felt more like a PSP. If you haven’t guessed it till now, it was a disaster.
The ZTE Axon M’s attempt is different. Not because of the features or the company. It has the timing. We have risen up from the Intel Pentium cores for your desktop to the time. When Quad Cores in smartphones is a normal thing. Phones rock powerful graphics processors and RAM as high as 8 GB (Yeah I am talking to YOU OnePlus!). The Android Oreo recently gave multi-window support. The phones won’t lag, and UI seems perfect too. ZTE Axon M had everything ready, it just needed to put the pieces together. They have the corporate backing for the international market too. AT&T is their exclusive partner in the United States. NTT Docomo in Japan is committed to selling a lot of these. They have other prominent partners in European market too. They’ve estimates to sell 2-3 million of these bad boys.
Do you think that giving small companies should be some space in the market makes innovation in tech better or worse? Tell me down below.