Recent reports suggest that Amazon is planning to release a smartphone sometime in June, with shipments of the handsets to start in the month of September just ahead of the holiday season.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, which cites people familiar with the company’s plans, the online giant is prepping its smartphone to give tough competition to current smartphone market leaders Apple and Samsung.
The company has been showcasing versions of the handset to developers in San Francisco and Seattle in recent weeks claims the report. The news follows the recent launch of Fire TV earlier this month, a streaming device that allows streaming of online video content to televisions.
Although the details about the alleged smartphone are scarce, sources revealed that the new Amazon branded smartphone will probably be based on Android and will involve the words “Kindle” and/or “Fire” in its name.
The smartphone is expected to employ retina-tracking technology embedded in four front-facing cameras, or sensors that will allow users to see 3D images without the need of special glasses. The company hopes that this new 3D feature will make its smartphone stand out from other handsets currently available in the market.
Sources revealed that the 3-D screen technology will sense the movement of users’ eyes and automatically zoom in or out the videos or images when the screen is moving closer to a user’s face.
Amazon also announced on Thursday that it has acquired a digital comic startup ComiXology, for an undisclosed sum.
Amazon has refused to comment on anything related to the report.
