Amazon is officially in the smartphone business.
Confirming months of rumors, the world’s largest online retailer unveiled on Wednesday its long-awaited smartphone, the Fire Phone.
“The phone is gorgeous,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, to an auditorium full of journalists, analysts and Amazon customers. “I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it. Premium materials, rubberized frame. Gorilla Glass on both sides.”
The phone is capable of displaying images in 3D, thanks to four specialized cameras on its front that track a person’s head movement. The 3D imaging even works in the dark because the cameras can see infrared light.
“The key is knowing where the user’s head is at all time,” Bezos said. “In real time. Many, many times a second.”
The Fire Phone has a 4.7-inch screen, which Bezos characterized as the perfect size for one-handed use, and has a 13 megapixel camera for taking pictures. He boasted that tiny electric motors adjust the lens 100 times per second, counteracting jittery human hands holding the phone.
