Everybody’s favorite one-stop-shop online retail Amazon officially debuted its Fire Phone yesterday. The Fire OS-powered smartphone joins the company’s Kindle e-reader, Kindle Fire HD tablets and Fire TV set-top box.
Fire Phone features a 4.7-inch IPS screen with a 1280 x 720 HD resolution, 2.2GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 330 graphics, 2GB of RAM, options of 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, stereo speakers and a 2,400mAh battery.
On the back is a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization, which Amazon claims trumps the iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5’s cameras. On the front is a 2.1-megapixel camera along with four additional cameras (one in each corner) that is capable of tracking faces with incredible accuracy.
Both the front and back are made from scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass and the edges of the Fire Phone are reinforced with a rubberized bumper to save it from accidental tumbles.
The cameras are rather integral to the Fire Phone. A feature called Firefly can utilize the rear camera to scan real-world products, web site URLS, phone numbers, QR codes, artwork, songs, movies, TV shows and more — over 100 million items. Once recognized, Fire Phone will either display information on product or bring up purchase availability.
The front-facing cameras make up Dynamic Perspective — a feature that constantly “watches” your face, which means it can display “3D” elements such that it will let you look behind and on the sides of objects in games, or allow you to take a closer look at, say, an article of clothing.
While the Fire Phone does support the most popular apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it doesn’t come with any of Google’s services such as Gmail or Google Maps, mainly because the Fire OS only has access to Amazon’s Appstore.
If you’re invested in Amazon’s digital ecosystem of shopping, apps, and music and video streaming services, the Fire Phone is a no-brainer.
You can pre-order the Fire Phone on Amazon right now with devices shipping on July 25. A 32GB Fire Phone will cost $199.99 and a 64GB model will run $299.99 — both will be exclusive to AT&T for the time being. Amazon’s also sweetening the deal for a limited time with a free 12-month Prime membership worth $99.
Price: $199.99 (32GB), $299.99 (64GB) with 2-year contract
Source: Amazon
