[android] Amazon unveils the Fire Phone

[Arthur]

Source: Amazon US (via AnandTech)

 

Today Amazon took to Seattle to announce their first foray into the Android phone market. Amazon is no stranger to Android devices. They led the charge for 7” tablets with the original Kindle Fire and they've expanded their lineup to Android tablets of many sizes. An Android based Amazon phone has long been rumored but has never come to fruition, until now. The Fire Phone is Amazon’s first Android smartphone and it has a couple interesting points of differentiation to say the least. The full specifications are laid out below.

 

The Fire Phone runs Amazon's heavily modified version of Android which Amazon calls Fire OS. Much of the changes and additions involve features that work with Amazon's services. The Fire Phone uses Amazon's Android app store for downloading and purchasing applications rather than Google Play, and many of the stock applications are designed to allow integration with Amazon's cloud services such as Amazon music store streaming in the music app and Amazon Prime TV and movie streaming in the stock videos app. Amazon also includes unlimited cloud storage for storing photos taken with the Fire Phone in full resolution.

 

One of the big software features Amazon is touting is called Firefly. In a similar fashion to Google Goggles, firefly can use the device's camera to examine photographs and logos, scan barcodes, identify works of art, etc. It can also use the device's microphone to identify a song in a similar fashion to Shazam. The ability to utilize Firefly is always available to the user through a dedicated hardware button on the side of the device that launches the camera application immediately. Amazon is also shipping an SDK for application developers so they can integrate the use of Firefly into applications to perform actions such as playing a song in a radio app or looking up nutritional information from a logo on a chocolate bar.

 

With the Fire Phone there's a big catch, and that's that on contract it's exclusive to AT&T. Users who want to purchase the device outside the US or on another US carrier will have to purchase it outright. The Fire Phone is available for pre-order now on Amazon at $199 or $299 on contract for the 32GB and 64GB models respectively. Buyers purchasing it off contract will have to pay $649 for the 32GB and $749 for the 64GB models. The Fire Phone will begin shipping to buyers on July 25th.

 

 

http://i.snag.gy/6vybU.jpg

Edited June 18, 2014 by Arthur

[Grey-gear]

Be nice to see one in person to test the 3D feature out.

[Arthur]

The videos below show what dynamic perspective looks like. Pretty cool, although I wouldn't buy the phone just for that feature.

 

 

https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/503400005E1091158311166156800_2ae2fa75f3f.0.3.1551 0954400845392889.mp4?versionId=hp.1eZn6zIWkxaypRDQ mBB8e35XU9fyf

Edited June 19, 2014 by Arthur

[abillybob]

Meh. It's ok but it's not quite carling.

[Arthur]

The Fire Phone now available to pre-order in the UK (probably because Amazon have sold fewer than 35,000 phones in the US!!!).

 

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=gw_183064107_2?docId=1000819073

[Arthur]

Time for a fire sale?

 

Amazon has $83 million worth of Fire Phones it can’t sell « Geek.com

[featured_spectre]

They're practically giving them away in the US. The trouble is they're locked into the amazon market place and not google play, which is extremely limiting.

[plexer]

If they were cheap and unlocked in the UK I'd buy one.

 

Ben

[hallb15]

Amazon have the Fire phone on sale today only.

 

£99 for the 32GB or £149 for the 64GB

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IFQ56PU/ref=fs_afp

 

Worth a go at that price?

[beaches511]

I had a punt on the 64gb, the phone is impressive. The firefly stuff responds really fast.

Its just a massive shame you can't unlock it from O2 or side load the google store stuff. The lack of google play apps hurts this phone badly, if i could load them on, it would be a brilliant phone but not being able to already get the apps i've paid for or even the gmail client is terrible and they have really shot themselves with that. Its a Shame as its a really nice phone.

 

i think i'll be returning it or using it as an ipod