WSJ: Amazon To Launch Its Own 3-D Smartphone In September
Amazon might be challenging Apple on two fronts as of this writing, but according to a recent report, the Kindle-maker is set to take on Cupertino's iPhone in September with a new smartphone product of its own.
The news surfaced online in an article from The Wall Street Journal, which explains that Amazon has been showing prototypes of the handset to developers in San Francisco and Seattle over the course of the past few weeks. The report also notes that a September launch for the handset appears to be on the cards.
More significant, however, is the smartphone's display: Amazon's upcoming product is said to feature a 3-D screen capable of producing three-dimensional images without the need for glasses. This is achieved using four front-facing cameras which track eye movement, according to the publication:
The people said Amazon hopes to distinguish its phone in a crowded market with a screen capable of displaying seemingly three-dimensional images without special glasses, these people said. They said the phone would employ retina-tracking technology embedded in four front-facing cameras, or sensors, to make some images appear to be 3-D, similar to a hologram, the people said.
In short, if iOS 7's parallax made you sick, you ain't seen nothing yet.
This certainly isn't the first we've heard concerning a possible Amazon smartphone. Reports dating as far back as mid-2012 have argued that the company has been planning on entering the smartphone market, and Amazon's recent launch of its Fire TV set-top box further demonstrates that it's looking to increase its hardware efforts.
The Kindle Fire has aimed to challenge Apple's iPad, though in terms of market share this hasn't proven to be a runaway device. The Fire TV, on the other hand, is an impressive looking product that beats Apple's own Apple TV on a number of fronts.
Apple is expected to release its next-generation iPhone handsets later this year, and if the above report is accurate, Amazon's own handset would be put forward in September as a direct competitor. The iPhone 6 should feature a larger, sapphire-coated screen, Touch ID, an improved processor, and a slimmer, possibly lighter form factor.
We'll keep you updated with further information as we receive it.
In the meantime, see: AppAdvice Daily: It's Game Time, New And Unreleased Gaming Titles To Look Forward To, AppAdvice Game Of The Week For April 11, 2014, and Will RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile Be Atari's Next Sensation?.
