Amazon’s smartphone finally released

After years of leaks and rumors, it was hard to believe reports last month that Amazon had finally produced a market-ready smartphone. It was all true, however, and Amazon has officially announced its Fire phone, and it is already available for preorder.

The Fire phone has some pretty exciting features, which are definitely necessary for it to be a contender in the extremely competitive smartphone market, 46% of which was controlled by Apple and Samsung alone at the beginning of this year.

One of the most talked-about of these features is Dynamic Perspective, which will create a whole new viewing experience for smartphone users. Not only will Dynamic Perspective allow for 3D viewing, but it will also use facial recognition and tracking technology to enable the user to scroll hands-free. At any given time, it will be using up to two of its four front-facing cameras to constantly take the accurate measurements of the users head required for the tracking technology to work. Supposedly, it will even work at night, or when the user is backlit. The technology for Dynamic Perspective will be available for third-party developers, which could make for some interesting new applications on the Fire. 

 
The four cameras won’t just be used for Dynamic Pesrpective, however. According to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the Fire will take better pictures than either the iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy, no matter what. Its camera is 13 megapixels, with optical image stabilization, an f/2.0 lens, and a button on the side that will allow users to take pictures without unlocking the device. The camera also uses Amazon’s cloud so that the phone has unlimited picture storage. This is important because as picture taking has become one of the main uses for a smartphone, pictures often take up a lot of storage on smartphones that users need for apps, contacts, and other data.

A feature of the Fire that will obviously be a great benefit to Amazon is Firefly. The app will scan any object and provide a user with prices and vendors for that product. If the product is sold on Amazon, there will be an option for users to purchase it directly from their phones. What’s more, users will have another reason to buy from Amazon: The phone comes with a year of free Amazon Prime service, which provides for free two-day shipping. Firefly can also be used to determine which song is playing, and when pointed at a famous painting, it will bring the user to the painting’s Wikipedia page.

With a contract from AT&T, the Fire will cost $199 for a 32-gigabyte version, and $300 for a 64-gigabyte one, a full $100 less than the iPhone 5s. Unsubsidized, the phones will cost $650 and $750, respectively. Shipment of the preordered phones will begin on June 25.

By MaryElizabeth Koepele

Story via wsj.com