by Al Sacco

Amazon Teaser Suggests ‘Fire Phone’ to Finally Debut June 18

Opinion
Jun 05, 20142 mins
AndroidSmartphones

Amazon announced a launch event on June 18 and teased it with a video clip that suggests the company could finally unveil its long-rumored smartphone.

I’ve been writing about Amazon’s “Fire Phone” — the actual name is unknown, but I’m fond of Fire Phone — for years, and based on a teaser video posted yesterday by the massive online retailer, June 18 could be the big day it finally sees the light of day.

In April, a Wall Street Journal reportdetailed the long-rumored Fire Phone, and suggested that it would be announced in June.

The video doesn’t give much away, but there’s a lot of “oohs” and “aahs” and much moving around and shaking to elicit some sort of response from whatever device the subjects are using, which seems to confirm eye/movement tracking features, and perhaps, confirm earlier rumors about a glasses-free 3D experience. The Amazon smartphone could also have many of the same enterprise-oriented features as the company’s Kindle Fire tablets, and it could prove to be well suited for BYOD.

A number of images of the purported Fire Phone, which is expected to run a customize version of Android, were leaked in April. They show what appear to be five separate front-facing cameras, some or all of which could be used to track user movement and create some type of unique UI experience.

I’ve requested an invite to Amazon’s event, and I hope to be in Seattle on June 18, Fire Phone or no Fire Phone.

AS