Sprint to kill off quirky Kyocera Echo, Evo 4G

The Kyocera Echo and HTC Evo 4G are but two of a handful of phones that show up on an end-of-life list for October.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Editorial Director, Content Operations

Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Thought Leadership, Speed Desk and How-To. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica led CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).

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Jessica Dolcourt

Sept. 21, 2011 11:34 a.m. PT

Say your goodbyes to the quirky Kyocera Echo; even illusionist David Blaine can't save it now.

According to an image of an internal document obtained by Sprint Feed, the Android smartphone with its dual touch screens and "pivot hinge" will reach the end of its short life at Sprint in early October.

We will say one thing for it, it was a unique device. Introduced in New York in February with magician Blaine as the night's buzzworthy entertainment, the Echo's two 3.5-inch WVGA touch screens open up to form a larger 4.7-inch display to support its optimized and simultask modes. It also has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video support.

The Echo was Kyocera's most daring effort in a long time, but it unfortunately failed to capture much real consumer attention.

The Echo isn't the only one to go. Sprint is also laying the kiss of death on the HTC Evo 4G, the carrier's first foray into 4G, and the nation's first 4G phone, by way of WiMax.

Don't feel too bad for this one. The Evo's success has bred offshoots, like the Evo Shif 4Gt with a QWERTY keyboard, the Evo 3D, and even a tablet, the Evo 4G View.

The BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Sanyo Innuendo join the list as other Sprint end-of-lifers.

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