Rumors have been floating around for a while that there’s an Amazon branded smartphone on the way. We’re not entirely sure if the smartphone will be part of the Kindle brand, or part of something entirely new. It makes sense that Amazon would use the same brand name, seeing as how much success they have had with the Kindle tablets.
We’re also hearing new reports that Amazon is actually building several different devices, one of which is a smartphone with a full 3D display. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Amazon has been developing a wide-ranging lineup of gadgets, including… an audio-only streaming device.”
The Journal says the 3D display will even use “retina-tracking technology [in order to make] images on the smartphone… seem to float above the screen like a hologram and appear three-dimensional at all angles.”
That’s pretty crazy, right? Just wait, it gets even crazier.
WSJ sources also mentioned that users would be able to “navigate through content using just their eyes.”
When you stop and think about it though, it’s not all that different from what Samsung implemented in their new flagship, the Galaxy S4. I mean sure, the S4 doesn’t actually let you navigate with your eyes, but there’s a unique feature that will stop video playback when you look away from the screen.
There’s no mention of a release date for the Amazon Kindle smartphone, but speculation points to a late release, positioned sometime after June.
Still, it will be very interesting to see how Amazon fares in the smartphone market especially since the Kindle tablets are so successful. The smartphone world is remarkably different from the tablet market, even though it seems similar on the surface. In fact, the smartphone market is incredibly saturated with devices ranging from budget all the way to high-end.
An Amazon smartphone would likely compete in the low-end to mid-level spectrum of the market. That would put it up against Google’s Nexus line of devices. Consumers that purchase Kindle devices however, are generally a different crowd than those who opt for stock Android devices. We’ll find out soon enough, when the Amazon phone eventually makes its way to market.
What’s your take on all of this?
Source Wall Street Journal