25 Jun Amazon Fires into the Phone Market
Five years in the making, Amazon doesn’t only shake up the smart phone market but lights it up with their innovative Fire phone. Currently available for pre-order, the device will officially be available only in America on the 25th of July.
Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, invited the media and loyal Amazon customers to the launch of Amazon’s Fire phone in Seattle, Washington last week to introduce the much anticipated device.
So what does Amazon’s own branded smartphone have to offer?
Amazon Fire Tech Specs
- 4.7 inch device with 590 nits screen
- 2.2 GHz quad core processor
- 2GB of RAM
- Adreno 339 graphics processor
- Gorilla Glass (front and back)
- 13-megapixel camera with infrared light
- 3D display capabilities
- Dual-stereo speaks with Dolby Digital plus
Amazon Fire Features
FireFly
Taking the concept of Shazam and Google to another level, Firefly allows its users to scan any objects, using the devices built in camera, including TV shows/movies, games, barcodes or music playing and provides the user with a link of that product to it on Amazon.com for further information and/or to buy the product. Similarly, if a user scans a painting, FireFly will bring up information on the artist via Wikipedia.com. Activated through a dedicated button, the Firefly can even count the calories of your food with the integrated MyFitnessPal feature. All scanned products with be stored in the device until the user chooses to delete them.
Mayday
First offered to Kindle Fire tablets, Amazon is extending Mayday, to its Fire Phone customers. Mayday will summon a real person via video call, within 15 seconds, anytime of the day and all year round, to assist users with their handset.
Dynamic Perspective, Source: PhoneRPT
Dynamic Perspective (3D Effect)
Demonstrated on launch day, by tilting the phone in a specific way, the 3D display feature can be instigated. A user can browse; shop and scroll through web pages without having to physical touch the screen. Technically called positive parallax, users will experience an extra dimension as oppose to a flat screen we are all accustom too. With a 120 degree front view infrared camera, the technology has been designed to always be conscious to where the users head is situated in relation to the screen, even in low light situations. During the launch, Benzo demonstrated this technology by deploying a three dimensional image of New York’s Empire State Building on Amazon’s Mapping App. Amazon will be releasing a software development kit (SDK) for Dynamic Perspective so developers can incorporate this feature into their apps.
13-Megapixal Infrared Camera
With a 13-megapixal and optical image stabiliser, the Fire will; outperform the camera of both Apple’s iPhone 5c & Samsung S5 claims Bezos. To top it all off, all users will be offered unlimited free storage of photos on the Amazon Cloud (videos are not included).
WhisperSync
With Fire’s WhisperSync, listening to bedtime stories does not have to be a thing of the past. This feature allows the user to listen to an audio version of a book and when bookmarked on the Fire, it can be easily picked up on the Kindle.
Tangle Free Headphones
Describing their new tangle free headphones as “comfortable and ergonomic” Amazon has designed headphones with flat cables and magnetic ear buds creating a tangle free solution. Amazon will include these headphones when the Fire is purchased.
Amazon Fire Availability
For now, the Fire is only available in the US and only through US carrier AT&T; however, American customers also have the choice to purchase Fire outright from Amazon for $649 (USD) or 24 monthly payments of $27(USD). Included in the price of the handset is a one year Amazon Prime Membership.
No word yet on when the Fire phone will be available in Australia.