Just like its line of Kindle Fire tablets, the phone will run a heavily customized and forked version of Android which the company is calling Fire OS 3.5. The Fire Phone’s body is made of aluminum with anodized button. The screen is a 4.7-inch IPS LSCD HD display at 720p and 315 ppi. Under the hood is a 2.2GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, 2GB of RAM and the graphics are powered by an Adreno 330 Graphics Processor. You can get a phone with either 32 or 64GB of storage space. The rear-camera is 13MP with f/2.o five elements lens, Image Stabilization, as well as a dedicated camera button, which allows you to take a picture even if the screen is off. It will take 1080p video at 30 fps from both the front and rear-facing cameras. It can take shot with Panorama, Lenticular, and Burst capture.
The front of the phone has four small cameras that are used for what the company calls Dynamic Perspective. Unlike the rumors of a proper 3D phone, this is a different technology that allows you to tilt the phone to browse through photos, books, etc. It contains a designed sensor system that responds to how you hold, view, and move the phone. The Dynamic Perspective sensor system includes invisible infrared illumination, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer, proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor. It’s actually not fair to put this feature in words. I recommend watching the demo in the video below. The Dynamic Perspective segment starts at the 40 minute mark. To get right to it, click this link. For sound, it has Dual Stereo Speakers with Virtual Surround Sound. It also comes with a pair of tangle-free earbuds.
More Fire Phone Details
It’s also worth noting that the Fire Phone and Fire TV are said to integrate well with each other, similar to the Fire HDX and Fire TV, and the phone will act as a remote for the set-top box. If you are a Kindle Fire HD or HDX owner, the heavily customized forked version of Android will be familiar to you. It even includes the patented “Mayday Button” for fast customer support.
Conclusion
One glaring caveat is that the phone will be exclusive to AT&T’s Next contract which will undoubtedly turn off several potential customers. The 32GB Fire Phone costs $199 with a 2-year contract or $649 without a service plan. The 64GB model is $299 with AT&T contract or $749 without. The Fire Phone is available for pre-order today and is set to ship on July 25th. If you would like to watch the entire Fire Phone presentation by Jeff Bezos, check out the video below:
I have always done prepaid because contracts are a complete ripoff IMO. Something like how they sell the Fire HDX and HD … even the Kindle readers. I could handle some ads for a cheaper unlocked device. I am surprised that it costs so much unlocked — $650 for the 32GB model….yikes, that is as much as the unlocked iPhone. While I do find it intriguing and think it’s an interesting smartphone, I won’t be purchasing one…not at that price. I do like the idea of the Firefly feature too. I would imagine we’ll start seeing that type of capability on the other major phones – Android, iOS, and Windows Phone to some degree moving forward. Comment
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