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Both of these rumors have been denied by Amazon, with the company stating they will not be releasing a smartphone this year and there are no plans to release a smartphone in the near future, but we don’t buy the last statement.
New reports say Amazon is currently working on both devices, the high-end 3D smartphone is codenamed Smith and will have four cameras on each corner of the smartphone, tracking eye movements to give a 3D effect on the phone.
Amazon is also working on facial recognition software to make sure the phone only notices one user and tailors the 3D experience. This may open up ways to unlock and pay simply through facial recognition, which we believe Amazon will be looking into adding.
The question is can 3D be more than a gimmick and can it really work to a users advantage. 3D has been in movies, TV and some games but has not been well received and some manufacturers have stopped adding 3D functionality to their TVs.
Amazon’s other smartphone is a budget end device and nothing is known about it, apart from the fact the price will be incredible for customers used to two year contracts with $199 upfront payment.
The Kindle Fire tablets opened up a world of cheap tablet sales, with Google adding the Nexus 7 and Apple even hopping in with the not-so-cheap iPad Mini. The difference between the Kindle Fire and previous attempts at cheap tablets was Amazon’s tablet actually worked quite well and offered a wide selection of content tailored for the device.
If Amazon can do this with a smartphone, it would be golden, especially considering the price for the Kindle Fire HDX with the same internals as the LG G2 or Xperia Z1, currently selling for around $500/600 off contract.
