“Amazon.com Inc. is preparing to release a smartphone in the second half of this year, according to people briefed on the company’s plans, part of a broad push into hardware that would pit it against Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.,” Greg Bensinger and Evelyn M. Rusli report for The Wall Street Journal. “The retailer has been demonstrating versions of the handset to developers in San Francisco and its hometown Seattle in recent weeks, these people said. People briefed on the company’s plans have been told that Amazon aims to announce the phone by the end of June and begin shipping phones by the end of September, ahead of the holiday shopping season.”
“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,” Bensinger and Rusli report. “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.”
“Amazon has told one of its suppliers it is anticipating mass production of the device later this month, with an initial order of 600,000 units, according to a person briefed on the plans,” Bensinger and Rusli report. “The company has lined up two display makers for the smartphone, including Japan Display Inc., the maker of displays for Apple’s iPhone 5C and 5S, according to another person familiar with the details.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Gimmick. Amazon should include a package of Dramamine with each purchase.
Unfortunately, this is a gimmick like 3D TV.
Apple will be unveiling the 2-D headset also for one eyed users.
yes, just in case you ever want to re-watch House Of Wax on your smartphone.
Because 3D TV really took off …
I think Walmart should release a mobile phone too.
Is there a version of Mad Libs for analysts going around?
[Large tech company] will release [consumer electronics] with [latest gimmick]. Display will be manufactured by [random Asian supplier], begin production of [00,000] units in [month] and ship in [month].
I hope they are made green so they have a chance to decay on the landfill.
This is just a late April Fool’s joke.
I can already smell the Christmas morning disappointment.
Sorry kids.
lol or sorry Husband but you will be sleeping the doghouse this month!
Assmung has just announced it will be releasing a 4D phone, with night vision and built-in meat thermometer.
You win this week’s most hilarious ‘Samsung’ contortion award! Well done!
This is good. Just like when M$ come out with another piece of hardware. Go for it Amazon. It will cost you a bundle when the units fail to sale.
Unlike M$, Amazon doesn’t have a product that makes a ton of profit. They merely break even and a big loss on phones could hurt them big time. Amazon will have to convince the carriers to sell the phone and they will need to get the build levels right Phones cost a lot to make and if they don’t sell, Amazon will have a lot of them on their hands that they will have to scrap.
This could be their Waterloo.
3Ds and an F! Congratulations Mr. Kroger, you are at the top of the Delta Pledge Class.
I’m struggling to think of anything that I want less than this.
Oh, wait, there’s herpes, root-canal work, migraines, smallpox…
It took almost 20 years for HDTV to become standard in the US. 3D will become a standard, even if the old men on this site doesn’t think so…
Remember, mono has never beat stereo…ever
Stereo hearing is a completely different animal from stereoscopic vision, because you don’t have to wear special headgear or look at a special screen at just the right angle to hear stereo sound.
When someone invents true holographic projection, then you might have a point. But current 3D technology is a headache/nausea-inducing failure.
——RM
A special screen that displays 3D without glasses? That sounds like Ninendo’s 3DS. My wife has one and loves it, but couldn’t care less about the 3D. She always has it turned off, because it gives her a headache. I’m guessing she’s not the only one, since Nintendo just released a budget “2DS” model without the 3D capability.
3D is a gimmick. It’s not doing as well in the theaters as it used to, and the 3D television sets never sold. If Amazon really thinks this is the ticket to big sales in smartphones, they are really starved for ideas.
——RM
Speaking of 3D, there appear to be perception differences between men and women, perhaps driven by hormones. Microsoft’s Dr. danah boyd cites some evidence to that effect. Maybe your wife’s example fits this theory…I’ve been wondering if also explains my unease with iOS 7’s home screen parallax effect, which I turned off.
Life is already in 3D. What don’t people put down the phones for a minute and enjoy it!
Life is already in 3D. Why don’t people put down the phones for a minute and enjoy it!
I give them a ton of credit despite the mocking and hilarious commentary that would make Stewart or Colbert grin.
Whether successful or not, we shall see. Particularly in an area attempting to move forward from the weed growing plethora of me-too flat crap unoriginal design that took over most of the tech titan’s gardens.
OK, I am ready now Apple trolls. One-star stabs. You can do it! 😉
Two
Words:
Battery
HOG
[From DaringFireball:]
BGR on Amazon’s Upcoming Smartphone ★
Zach Epstein:
The most novel aspect of Amazon’s upcoming smartphone is its 3D software interface and the hardware mechanism that enables it.
Our sources state that the new Amazon phone includes a total of six cameras.
Can’t wait to see this 3D stuff. In the meantime, though, I can’t help but think of this.