Amazon Fire Phone: Everything You Need to Know

Amazon’s Fire Phone is finally here! A pretty decent device, the Fire Phone also has a few tweaks. Rather than scour the web for info, here’s everything you need to know about the new Amazon phone. From a 3D effect to the interface to shopping tools, this one will definitely be one to consider next time you’re looking for a phone.

Specs

Amazon wasn’t too spec-heavy on this one, but we do get a decent device. A quad-core Snapdragon 800 2.2GHz processor moves things along, backed by 2GB RAM and an Adreno 330 GPU. It comes in 32 or 64GB memory variants (so you won’t have to fiddle with a paltry 16GB option). The 4.7-inch screen is bright, and viewable in any light supposedly. A 13MP camera has an f/2.0 sensor, which Amazon believes is the sweet spot to eliminate noise in shots. It also has a dynamic HDR feature, and three capture modes.

Features

The Amazon Fire Phone as a few neat features, one being Firefly. Using a dedicated button, the camera is used to snap pictures of things you might want to buy, and saves them for later. If you’re out and about and see something you might want to grab via Amazon, just snap a pic and it takes you to the item online. If you’re not ready to buy, Firefly will save the item for later. You can even use Firefly to grab audio and identify what song, or, more uniquely, what movie it’s from.

X-Ray

The device will also work with Fire TV. If you find a show you like on the Amazon phone, you can send it to the Fire TV, kind of like Chromecast. It serves as a second screen for your content, too, giving off extra info as you watch a show. Amazon also has ASAP, which queues up shows and movies they think you’ll like based on previous stuff you’ve watched.

Screen

The screen is something different, too. You’ll get a 3D effect, which gives you different perspectives as you turn the device. Amazon calls this “dynamic perspective”, and it’s an accurate moniker. You can also scroll through pages and the OS just by tilting your phone, making navigation more gesture-based than ever before. The 4.7-inch display is 1280 x 720 at 315ppi, so dense enough you won’t see pixels.

Prime

You also have access to Prime for 12 months, and get streaming music with it. Streaming movies is also available with Prime, as is the famed two-day shipping. The phone itself ties you into Prime with it’s shopping features, so it’s a natural fit. You’ll also get unlimited cloud storage via Amazon when you get a Fire Phone, so it’s something to consider when pricing devices.

Mayday, a popular feature from the Kindle Fire, also makes its way to the Fire Phone. A one-touch, connect-me-to-a-rep feature, it can even help you outside of the Amazon realm by directly handing you off to AT&T staff members.

Pricing and Availability

The device is available for pre-order now, at a cost of $650-750 outright. If you want to subsidize the cost, it’s $200 down, and requies a two-year contract. Keep in mind this is an AT&T exclusive (at least for now), so you’ll have to be — or want to be — an AT&T customer to get this one.

Conclusion

The Fire Phone is really an average flagship with a neat screen feature in dynamic perspective. It’s real aim is to tie you into Prime, so keep that in mind when you think about snatching this one up. A  year of Prime is neat, but if you don’t renew — what do you really end up with?