At the Amazon event today, we got exactly what we bargained for: a smartphone, which Amazon calls the Fire Phone. The device will tie directly into Prime, too. Specs aren’t bad either, and we’ve confirmed the SoC that will power the device as well!
First, we get to the hardware. The device has a Gorilla Glass A 4.7-inch screen. A rubberized frame keeps it safe, and a Quad-core 2.2GHz SoC powers it. We’ve confirmed that SoC is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset.
The device also has an Adreno 330 GPU, and 2 GB RAM. The camera is a 13MP rear camera with f/@.0 lens and optical image stabilization.
The screen is an “industry leading” ultra bright display at 590 nits. That makes for great viewing at any angle, even outdoors. There is a dedicated camera shuter button, and unlimited cloud photo storage. That’s huge — forget a 3D screen.
Flat cable headphones also come with the device, and dual stereo speakers will be included as well. The device is glass on the back, too, getting back to my original comment weeks ago about it looking much more like a Nexus 4 than an iPhone.
So why build a phone? To start the event, Amazon noted they had “tens of millions” of Prime members — many of whom renew. They view Prime as a vital part of their business model, and think they can capture existing customers.
We’ll have more to come on the Amazon Fire Phone, but these are the immediately cool specs right now!
They are coming out the gate HOT! A solid phone all around from specs, to ecosystem, and quality. I’m not even all into Amazon’s ecosystem. But I can see they will be a threat in a few years. No gimmicks.
Agreed with Nathan!