Is Sprint's (NYSE:S) Echo a Smartphone, Tablet, or Both?

The weeks of generating interest in the newest smartphone from Sprint (NYSE:S) wasn't a disappointment, as created a lot of buzz over the first-even smartphone with includes dual screens which Sprint is marketing as a combination smartphone/tablet.

Named "Echo," the new device has a 3.5-inch touch-screen which slides out into dual screens with a combined width of 4.7 inches, which is what prompts Sprint to assert it's a smartphone and a tablet. (This couldn't already be a disruptor of tablets before tablets get their legs could it?)

David Owen, Sprint’s vice president of consumer acquisition, says, “You will see a major marketing campaign for this phone. We consider the Echo to be a breakthrough device.”

When explaining why Echo would only be running on a 3G network, Owens answered, “We wanted to be first to market. We thought it was OK to have the first generation of this device be 3G.”

Echo runs the 2.2 version of Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system, which means the over 100,000 applications in Google’s Android Market will be able to be run in standard mode on the device.

Users can drag-and-drop items from one screen to another, and view two different operations at a time; one on each screen.

The Echo will go on sale in the spring of 2011, and be sold exclusively at Sprint for $199.