There were rumblings Amazon was getting ready to release its first smartphone and now an image of the handset has leaked.
Amazon has been increasing its lineup of Android devices through Kindle Fire tablets and most recently its new Fire TV set-top box. The devices are competitively priced and designed to make it easy to access Amazon content and services. The company has been rumored to be working on a smartphone for a few years and last week a report from The Wall Street Journal claimed the company would unveil the device in June and release it sometime in the third quarter.
Just as Amazon chose to build its own UI for its Android Kindle tablets and Fire TV, the company's first smartphone will have a brand new and innovative glasses-free 3D interface.
The first images of the Amazon smartphone and details made their way online courtesy of BGR. The site published images of the smartphone. The handset has been placed in a protective shell to prevent unauthorized people from seeing the smartphone's design.
The site claims Amazon plans on releasing the high-end smartphone in the images, followed by an entry-level device with lower end specs and a very competitive price. The second model is said to debut after Amazon launches the higher-end model.
The site claims the smartphone in the image will be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 2GB of RAM to keep things flowing smoothly. Its display will reportedly be 4.7-inches and have 720p resolution. It will also include a total of 6 cameras to help with its 3D interface and include a 13-megapixel rear camera and front facing camera for video chat and Amazon's Mayday customer service feature it debuted on its most recent Kindle Fire tablets.
The four extra cameras are placed in the four corners on the front of the smartphone and are said to be low-power infrared cameras. The cameras are said to track the position of the user's eyes and face to allow software to make constant adjustments to what the user sees on the display. The 3D effect is said to be similar to the same solutions used by Nintendo with its 3DS portable.
The site states the smartphone will launch sometime this summer and will initially only be available for sale in the U.S.
