Amazon announced its first smartphone Wednesday, the Fire Phone.
The Fire Phone goes on sale July 25, but you can only get it if you're an AT&T customer. It costs $199.99 with a two-year contract. You can also buy it without a contract starting at $649.
It has a 4.7-inch screen, which is slightly larger than the 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5S.
One of the biggest features in the phone is Firefly. Firefly lets you snap photos of real-world objects and then search for them for purchase on Amazon. In short, the Fire Phone is a device that'll make it easier to buy stuff from Amazon.
The phone also has 3-D effects called Dynamic Perspective on the screen that can be used for gaming, mapping, and even shopping apps. (Amazon showed a demo where the Fire Phone let you "peek" around a dress on a shopping site.)
Here's a quick snapshot of the other important features:
- It runs Amazon's own customized version of Android. That means you can't use Google services like Gmail and Google Maps. You have to use Amazon's own app store, maps app, and other services.
- A Mayday button will let you video chat with an Amazon customer support representative if you have trouble using the device. This feature was originally introduced in the Kindle Fire HDX tablet last year.
- Fire Phone owners get unlimited photo storage online.
- It has infrared cameras on the front for taking photos in dark settings.
- New Fire Phone customers will get a free one-year subscription to Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime gives you free two-day shipping on many items, free streaming music, and free streaming video. It's a limited time offer.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his
personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
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Amazon set up some tables outside the venue.
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