Leaked Image Shows Amazon’s Smartphone Has Five Cameras
The upcoming smartphone from Amazon has been rumored for a long time and today we finally have the first leaked images, which show a prototype of the device. That is the good news. The bad news is that the prototype is under a protective case, so the final design of Amazon’s first smartphone cannot be seen in the leaked image. The picture was leaked by BGR, which also claims that it will only measure 4.7 inches, which is quite small by today’s industry standards.
According to rumors, Amazon smartphone’s 4.7 inch display will be capable of a 720p resolution, which may be a bit disappointing for many users that are used to today’s high end smartphones (such as the Samsung Galaxy S devices and the HTC One devices) being capable of a Full High Definition resolution of 1080p. It is also rumored to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon System on Chip and 2 GB of RAM.
A very interesting aspect is represented by the fact the leaked image shows not one, not two, not three or four, but five front facing cameras (if that is indeed what they are). One of the camera sensors will of course be used for the usual activities (taking pictures, recording videos, video calls etc.) but the other four camera sensors are more interesting and they probably represent the tech behind the rumored 3D capabilities of Amazon’s smartphone.
Speaking of 3D capabilities, as most of you already know, there are two mainstream methods of displaying a 3D image on a device. The first involves special glasses (or even a head mounted display) that display a (slightly) different image for each of your eyes; the second mainstream method of displaying a 3D image is similar to what Nintendo did with its 3DS portable console: use a specialized display tech that does not require 3D glasses. Amazon’s device, will also feature a glass free 3D but instead of a special display, it uses tracking cameras to achieve the effect.
BGR suggests the four camera sensors are actually tracking the user’s face and eyes in order to simulate 3D as the smartphone is used. Other reports are in direct contrast with what BGR says, claiming that the technology behind Amazon’s 3D does not involve face and eye tracking. It is also unknown just how important the 3D capabilities of the smartphone are. BGR suggests that Amazon is betting everything on the 3D feature, while other reports suggest that 3D will actually be pretty limited (at the very least at release) and it won’t be the main selling point of the device.
However, one thing that everyone agrees with is the release time frame previously suggested by a rumor: an unveiling at the beginning of Summer, in June and a release by the end of the Summer, in September. It is also known that Amazon’s smartphone will run Fire OS, a fork (Amazon basically took a copy of Android’s source code and started independent development on it, creating a distinct mobile Operating System) of the Android mobile operating system produced by Amazon for its Kindle Fire range of tablets. At the moment we still don’t know what the price tag will be, but a leak may happen before the June unveiling. We would like to know what you think about Amazon’s first smartphone so leave a comment in the dedicated section below.
