At first sight Amazon's Fire Phone is a pricey 4.7 inch Android that looks like an iPhone. But wait, there's more…
Most of the media coverage I've seen on the Amazon Fire Phone launched overnight New Zealand time focusing on the camera with its f/2.0 lens and optical image stabilisation. On paper that's slightly better than the Apple iPhone 5S.
There's also talk of the Firefly image recognition that means you can walk into a shop, take a snap of an item you like, then buy it for a cheaper price from Amazon. Retailers are going to love that. I expect to hear gnashing of teeth over that feature.
Amazon Fire Phone includes depth perception that gives the screen a 3D look without the need for special glasses.
However, it seems
Amazon hasn't impressed everyone:
Fire Phone UI is a
mess— Joshua Topolsky (@joshuatopolsky) June
18,
2014