Amazon has launched its first mobile handset, dubbed the Fire Phone, with 3D effects, gesture controls, and a feature that detects objects and digital media purchasable (preferably) from Amazon’s online stores.
The company’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos, demonstrated the new Fire Phone device at an event in Seattle.
Taking the stage on Wednesday, Bezos said: “It’s time to whip the crown from Apple.”
The Fire comes equipped with “Dynamic Perspective” – a feature that uses four cameras to create depth in the screen and create the perception of 3D, following head and hand movements.
For example, this allows a user to peer behind a marker or piece of text on a map app.
The device includes a 13 mega-pixel camera – a higher specification than on the latest iPhone but lower than some other high-end Android and Windows devices.
It also comes with a new application called Firefly, which uses the camera and visual recognition to identify objects ranging from books to CDs as well as listen to music before looking for it on Amazon.
Fire alos provides unlimited photo storage via the Amazon Cloud, and permits users to sync with Amazon’s nascent Fire TV set-top box.
The release of the Fire Phone follows on from Amazon’s success with the Kindle eReader and Kindle Fire tablet.
Key features include:
– The phone has a screen that measures 4.7 inches diagonally. Bezos says the size was chosen to be ideal for one-handed use.
– The camera has image stabilisation to counteract shaking as people take shots. Amazon is offering unlimited free storage on its Cloud Drive service.
– The phone will have features familiar to users of other Amazon gadgets. Besides X-Ray and Mayday, there’s access to e-books to borrow for members of Amazon’s 99 dollars-a-year Prime program.
– Amazon’s Fire phone, like the Kindle range, run a highly modified version of Google’s Android system. That means apps for the phone would be limited to what’s available through Amazon’s own app store. The store has grown to include more than 240,000 apps, but there’s much more for Android and Apple devices.
Watch this video looking into the prospects of Amazon’s new phone here: