No more leaks, rumours or speculation, as the highly anticipated Amazon smartphone is all set for a grand unveiling later this month – June 18 to be exact, in case you want to mark the date in your calendar.
About 10 hours ago, Amazon officially tweeted about holding a product unveiling event in Seattle later this month.
Join Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos for our launch event. Request an invite http://t.co/jp1NWs7NQS #AmazonEvent pic.twitter.com/vk0UgDPNsY
— Amazon (@amazon) June 4, 2014
Not much to go with here but the picture does reveal a thin, black device with Amazon’s logo emblazoned in silver on its back. No prizes for guessing what this is.
For the last few months, a steady stream of leaks have confirmed that Amazon was indeed working on a smartphone – a device unlike any other that we’ve seen. Several reports have confirmed that the first Amazon smartphone ever will have front-facing cameras for a glasses-free 3D holographic effect for the user interacting with the phone.
Then early last month, the specs of the phone were confirmed. The new Amazon smartphone is expected to have a 4.7-inch 720p display and resemble very similar to an iPhone or Nexus 4. Apart from having a lot of front-facing cameras for eye-tracking or head-tracking, it will also support 3D gestures and have its own data plan called Prime Data. Also, this upcoming smartphone from Amazon will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. No confirmation on which OS it would run on, but a 2012 Bloomberg report claims that it may feature Android.
Just as the Kindle e-reader is nothing but a device that enables Amazon to sell its ebooks to users, similarly this new smartphone will enable Amazon to diversify into bigger, more profitable markets. A smartphone from Amazon makes a lot of sense, just as the mega online retailer makes a big push into providing its users enhanced web services and making bigger inroads into online entertainment.
Analysts predict that Amazon’s taking an aim at Apple and its iPhone business with the impending launch of this phone on June 18. How this impacts any of Amazon’s or Apple’s fortunes, in the US and around the world, is something we’ll just have to wait and watch.