Amazon's device lab is quietly building three new gadgets, including a kitchen computer, a new tablet and a new e-reader, according to a new report.
At the same time, however, the lab in question - the Amazon Lab126 - has reportedly firing dozens of engineers who worked on its not-so-successful Fire phone.
The news comes from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), who cites sources familiar with the matter. According to those sources, these layoffs are the first in more than a decade since the division operates.
"The company also has scaled back or halted some of Lab126's more ambitious projects-including a large-screen tablet-and reorganized the division, combining two hardware units there into one, people familiar with the matter said," the WSJ further notes.
The publication offers some intriguing details regarding the gadgets Amazon was secretly developing, as well as three projects that are still in the works at the company's lab in Silicon Valley.
A kitchen computer codenamed "Kabinet," for instance, reportedly aims to act as a hub for Internet-connected homes. The gadget would allow users to utter voice commands for various tasks such as placing orders on Amazon's website, the WSJ reveals.
Lab126 engineers are also trying to develop another interesting device: a Kindle e-reader with an impressively long battery life, able to last up to two years on a single charge. Should they make it, it would be a dramatic improvement over the battery life current e-readers have to offer.
Lastly, a third device reportedly in the cards for Lab126 is a tablet with a 3D effect, displaying images with the illusion that they pop out of the screen even if the user doesn't wear special 3D glasses. According to the WSJ, the technology for this purported tablet will not be the same as the one for the Fire phone, which leveraged several sensors to add more depth to images on the phone's display.
While these three gadgets are reportedly still in the works, the WSJ also offers some details on other projects that Amazon scrapped off in the meantime. Such projects include a digital stylus able to create shopping lists, a massive 14-inch tablet and a projector.
At the same time, the WSJ's sources further note that Amazon planned a stripped-down version of the Fire phone at some point, but the project is now delayed indefinitely. In other words, it remains unclear whether Amazon will eventually continue developing this phone or will ultimately ditch the project altogether.
