The Amazon Fire phone has finally been announced after years of speculation, and it's certainly bringing some different ideas to the table.
First up it sports five cameras on the front - one is the traditional front-facing snapper, and the other four are part of the Fire's Dynamic Perspective feature.
Dynamic Perspective tracks your head, and works out the distance it isthe screen, to produce 3D-like graphics on-screen.
Firefly is a supercharged barcode scanner which you can use to scan, well, anything. A pub sign, a car, a magazine, a bottle of beer. You name it, Firefly will scan it, and then probably try and make you buy something.
Mayday - Amazon's 24-7-365 interactive customer service - also makes the leapthe Kindle Fire HDX tablet to the Fire phone.
Thatsounds lovely, but is it any good? We've taken a look at the early hands on Amazon Fire phone reviewsaround the web to gauge the interest.
Gizmodo
Gizmodo doesn't hold back, declaring the Fire phone to be "Great for Amazon, less for you."
From the various hands-on reviews it's clear that the Amazon Fire isn't convincing people it's worth ordering just yet.
"The biggest impression one's left with is that Amazon poured the bulk of its resources into the part of the Fire phone - that's Firefly - that makes it easiest for you to buy thingsAmazon."
"Our advice for now, though: Hold off on pre-ordering. Amazon's Fire HDX tablet is fantastic. The Fire Phone? We're less sure."
Wired UK
The face and head tracking cameras are certainly impressive tech, but as Wired notes it's still not perfect.
"We had a representative at our side throughout the demo, and any time he had control of a head-tilting moment and aimed the phone my way, the control or sense would become wonky.
"This noticeably occurred at least six times in our half-hour of testing. "It's seeing both of our faces," he'd say apologetically each time. That's a huge hurdle to overcome, especially if Amazon expects to virally advertise this phone by having enthusiasts show it off."
Cnet
Cnet reckons Amazon is taking a bit of a gamble with the Fire phone. "Amazon is taking huge risks in going against the big guysSamsung and Apple. It's done it before, but in a tablet space that isn't as entrenched - or as vital - as smartphones."
Plus it's not the likes of Firefly and Mayday which will attract customers to the phone either.
"More likely, customers will come for the free year of Amazon Prime, especially if they rely heavily on Amazon's online services,shopping and music and video streaming, or own a Kindle or Amazon Fire TV."
Engadget
The folks over at Engadget appear relatively non-plussed about the Amazon Fire phone.
"Spec-wise, it isn't the most impressive phone, despite commanding a $199 price tag on-contract ($650 off-contract). But it's not horrible either - it's simply what you'd expectan average phone."
"Users with motion sickness will notthe Dynamic Perspective option. It reminds me of the parallax motion on iOS 7, a feature that frustrated a fair number of iPhone and iPad users. Fortunately, Amazon will let you turn this feature off.
The Verge
The Verge highlights that one of the core reasons Amazon has produced the Fire phone is to drive sales.
"There simply has never been a better device to help you indulge in impulse purchases - a prospect that has us both intrigued and terrified in equal parts."
As with the others, the Verge doesn't see it as a bad device, but the Fire appears to be struggling to win people over. "The Fire phone makes a neat first impression, but it has a mid-range ethos to it that makes the total asking price feel a little steep."
Android Central
Over at Android Central the feeling is that the retail giant has done the right thing. "Amazon created a mobile device that speaks to its customer base perfectly, and the end result is the Fire Phone."
"How much appeal it actually draws will ultimately be limited by its price and carrier restrictions, but as a first start for Amazon in the phone marketplace, we're excited about the Fire Phone."
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