As expected, Amazon unleashed its first ever smartphone dubbed Amazon Fire Phone at an event in Seattle on Wednesday. The device is exclusive to the US carrier AT&T and it is available on pre-order, while the shipping will debut from July 25. The highly anticipated smartphone has room for a plethora of features with the unseen 3D interface and it looks pretty beautiful and durable. The Amazon Fire Phone is definitely an innovative offering in the premium smartphone market segment. Here is a quick review on this revolutionary smartphone.
Camera and Internal Storage
The Amazon Fire Phone features a 13 MP primary camera with LED flash, BSI, five-element f2/0 lens, OIS and HDR capabilities. Also, there is a 2.1 MP front-facing camera onboard that will take charge of video calling. Both these cameras support FHD 1080p video shooting capabilities. In addition to these cameras, the Amazon phone includes four cameras that are placed on the front corners of the handset and they track the user’s eyes using infrared to change the orientation of what is depicted on the screen accordingly.
When it comes to the storage department, the Amazon Fire Phone arrives in two configurations – 32 GB and 64 GB of internal storage options. There is no micro SD card slot on the device to facilitate expansion. However, Amazon includes unlimited photo storage to the Cloud Drive and this is an impressive feature for those who prefer expandable memory support.
Processor and Battery
The handset is stuffed with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset that is clocked at 2.2 GHz. This processor is paired with Adreno 330 graphics unit for handling the graphic rich games and 2 GB of RAM to take charge of the multi-tasking department. This combination is believed to be sufficient to handle the processing power segment and it is on par with the other flagship models that are available for now.
A 2,400 mAh battery unit powers the innovative smartphone and it is claimed to pump in 285 hours of standby time, 22 hours of talk time, 11 hours of video playback and 65 hours of audio listening. These figures seem to be acceptable though they are not outstanding.
Display and Features
The handset is given a 4.7 inch IPS display that has HD resolution of 1280×720 pixels, 315 ppi pixel density and brightness level of 590 nits. With this brightness, Amazon claims that the phone’s display can be seen even under direct sunlight or while wearing glasses. This panel is protected using Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to prevent scratches and damage. There is an ambient light sensor and Dynamic Image Contrast features as well.
Running on a forked version of Android – Fire OS 3.5, the Amazon Fire Phone lacks the Google Mobile Services suite that is a downside. But, there is the innovative 3D UI called Dynamic Perspective. Also, this 3D features lets users to enjoy 3D content that is displayed on the screen without glasses.
With this feature, users can perform tilt gestures that will initiate the actions by simply moving the phone. For instance, the web pages can be scrolled by tilting the device when the browser is open. This also works will with apps and games. This Dynamic Perspective SDK will be made available to the developers starting from today and this will help them in building new applications using the technology.
Also, there is a feature called Firefly lets users to identify the things that are around them. For instance, they can scan a DVD or any other product and it will recognize the same from its database and direct the user with the product listing on Amazon. With this feature, users can purchase the recognized product from the retailer instantly. There are other features such as MayDay, Prime streaming, Second Screen support and others as well.
Comparison
Well, the Amazon Fire Phone is definitely an innovative offering as we have already mentioned. However, based on its hardware specs the handset can be compared with the likes of flagship models such as Apple iPhone 5s, HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3 and others.
Key Specs
| Model | Amazon Fire Phone |
| Display | 4.7 inch, HD |
| Processor | 2.2 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 800 |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Internal Storage | 32 GB/ 64 GB, Non-Expandable |
| OS | Amazon Fire OS 3.5 |
| Camera | 13 MP/ 2.1 MP |
| Battery | 2,400 mAh |
| Price | $649/ $749 |
What we Like
- Dynamic Perspective 3D interface
- Eye tracking feature
What we Dislike
- No support for Google Mobile Services
Price and Conclusion
The Amazon Fire Phone is available via AT&T with and without contracts. Also, users can grab hold of the phone by paying a monthly charge of $27. When it comes to the user experience, the handset is pretty much impressive with a whole lot of feature additions that are out-of-the-box, but these features are more of a gimmick. Moreover, there is no clear picture on when exactly the device will see the light of the day in other parts across the world and with the other carriers.
