We keep hearing rumors about Amazon’s smartphone, but as long as it is taking, you would think they might be waiting for their rumored drones to be delivering them. Sources keep letting bits and pieces slip about components that will make up the Amazon smartphone, like our article this past week where sources stated that Primax Electronics has received orders from Amazon for Compact Camera Modules (CCMs) to be used in the new Amazon device.
Rumors swirl around about a 4.7-inch screen (a good, all around size), hardware/processor manufacturers range from Texas Instruments to Qualcomm, with HTC actually the smartphone manufacturer. The phone is also rumored to use the floating touch technology, much like the Galaxy S4, where you can simply “hover” your finger over the display to make your selection. Prices are said to be only in the $150 – $170 range and may be an Amazon Prime subscriber exclusive in an attempt to lure more people to sign up for their service.
Yet a new report has leaked, via Digitimes, that the new Amazon phone will have six (6) CMMs per phone, which is very unusual, but it does support another rumor that the smartphone will have four front facing cameras (FFC) to allow for 3D rendering and also motion control without having to touch the screen. With the four cameras to track your eyes, the view on your screen should have a 3D look without having to wear the 3D glasses. The other two cameras will be the standard main camera for taking pictures and a separate FFC for the normal video chat.
Even though Amazon has tremendous distribution capabilities, we are still not sure why Amazon wants to get into the smartphone business. All of the delays has all but killed the excitement or anticipation of the device – and if and when it does arrive, it better have something really special to offer if it is to compete against the likes of Samsung, LG, HTC, and Apple. If they can devise a cheap data plan, offer 20GB of free cloud storage, provide some exclusive app titles like those that they do on the Kindle Fire, and improve their cloud music player to include streaming music like Pandora, but with the ability to share playlists, like Spotify, Amazon may be able to attract potential smartphone buyers.
Let us know on our Google+ Page if you are interested in a smartphone from Amazon – is it a good idea, or does it even make sense for them to get into their own branded smartphone.