Amazon…Smartphone?

Amazon is famous for their delivery services. Many people prefer to do all their shopping online to avoid the hassle of getting to a store. Each year, Cyber Monday is as big on sales as Black Friday. Amazon does have other services however. Prime deals with faster delivery, Reality TV, Movie streaming, and Music. Some people even prefer Amazon to giants like Netflix and Hulu Plus. Kindle is a big contender in eReading. But, smartphones? Amazon has recently released the Amazon Fire Phone. Much cheaper than other smartphones on the market, it runs Fire OS, and Android based OS. There are 3 classic models of 16, 32 and 64 GB. The size of the phone is on the larger side at 5.48 x 2.62 x 0.35 in. The phone supports a whopping 2 MB of RAM, on a phone!!! The processor is a quadcore 2.2 gHz Krait processor. Max battery life on stand-by is 285 h. The max talk time is 22 h, and the max music play is 65 h. This video is the actual press conference where the Fire phone was released.

The Fire Phone isn’t a bad start for Amazon. With some improvements, it may come to be a major contender in the smartphone market. A first impression shows the OS very similar to Android. However, the cheaper prices may appeal to many people, especially those looking for a first major phone. Personally, I like the look of the phone. Swivel dynamic shortcuts look extremely useful and quick. The “Firefly” button looks intriguing as well. I like the idea of a home button that has many more functions. And of course, like the Kindle Fire, the “Mayday” button. For someone who isn’t tech-savvy and doesn’t like figuring everything out, live helpers can be really helpful. Amazon is also amping the deal with many added offers. Buying the Fire phone will grant a free year of prime, as well as 1000 coins of Amazon gold, roughly a $10 value. For those who like games on their phones, and addicting infinite runner games, etc., this phone might not be the thing. The Amazon app  store isn’t as appealing to developers as much as Google Play or The iOS App Store. All considered however, I think the Fire Phone is a brand new perspective to smartphone, and an interesting addition to the market. We’ll have to see how the sales play out by the end of the year.

~Ayan