Technoglitch
Core Member
After years of waiting, it looks like Amazon will finally launch its first smartphone. Thanks to several leaks online, we’ve got a pretty good idea of how the phone will look, what kind of specs it’s got, and the interesting 3D effects it will have, but how will it actually work? We’ve put all the different theories, reports, and speculation together to explain how we think the Amazon smartphone will work.
The technology doesn’t seem to be anything new, leaving us wondering: Will the Amazon smartphone just be another 3D fiasco like the Nintendo 3DS, 3D TVs, 3D movies, and those awful 3D smartphones from LG and HTC?
3D effects from your point of view
According to BGR, the Amazon smartphone will have four low-power infrared cameras on the front of the device. These cameras will be used to track your eye and head movements, so that the 3D effect on the screen moves to suit your perspective. That data is then relayed to the phone, so that the entire interface and all the apps move along with you, creating a much more realistic 3D effect than, say the iPhone with iOS 7 installed.
The report claims that the phone’s display will actually appear 3D, using the same technology that appeared on the Nintendo 3DS portable game console and the HTC EVO 3D. Amazon has supposedly created a better 3D effect than the ones seen on earlier displays that doesn’t obscure it with lines or pixels. The quality of the display will stay top-notch no mater what angle you look at it from, but there’s no guarantee that the effect won’t hurt your eyes after prolonged use.
Although this technology sounds very intriguing and fancy, it’s not entirely clear how useful or practical it really is.
The effect will reportedly work on wallpapers and apps, but it will also alter with your perspective when you’re using the maps app. Apparently, you’ll be able to change your orientation on the map by moving the phone’s position. The 3D effect will also supposedly work when you’re browsing the Amazon store. A simple tilt of the phone will open up a 3D product image, so you can explore every angle of your next purchase.
More recently, TechCrunch claimed that it knows where Amazon is getting its 3D technology. The site’s sources say that Japanese company Omron Okao Vision is responsible for the Amazon smartphone’s unique 3D effect. Amazon reportedly altered Okao Vision’s facial recognition and tracking technology to suit its purposes. The original Okao tech allows for analysis of the user’s face to determine age, ethnicity, and gender. Amazon supposedly won’t be using that aspect of the technology, but rather the facial recognition and tracking functions.
The Okao technology reportedly uses coordinates from the four cameras on the front of the phone to recognize the user’s face. The phone’s built-in gyro sensor and accelerometer help make Okao work faster and more efficiently. TechCrunch describes the technology as unique and says that Amazon’s phone won’t have any of the Nintendo 3DS’ limitations. It is unclear how Amazon will avoid the problem of sharp lines of pixels to ensure that looking at the device from the left or right side doesn’t kill your eyes.
Although this technology sounds very intriguing and fancy, it’s not entirely clear how useful or practical it really is. In fact, all those people who said iOS 7′s minor motion made them sick, will probably hate the Amazon phone’s 3D effects. Then again, the Amazon customers in the company’s teaser trailer seemed to enjoy what they were seeing. Many of them moved their heads around in circles while looking at a device in their hands, which presumably, is the Amazon smartphone.
Gestures, tilts, and more control the phone
In another report, BGR detailed how the Amazon smartphone’s operating system would work in an entirely unique way, using data from all the motion-tracking cameras and sensors. Tilting the phone at a certain angle will bring up different menus and special features in apps. These zero-touch controls are supposed to make using the Amazon phone more simple and intuitive, though it sounds like they could take some getting used to. If the software is too sensitive, the sensors could overreact to accidental motions and make mistakes.
A recent report from TechCrunch hints that the 3D effect will be somewhat limited when the Amazon phone finally arrives. Although Amazon has been courting app developers for some time, it seems that only a few of them have created apps that optimize the powerful 3D parallax effect.
Revolutionary tech or gimmick?
From what we know about the Amazon phone’s specs, it looks like the 3D effects and special gestures are only things that will differentiate this smartphone from all the other ones that are already out there. Amazon will surely promote these effects as original and ground-breaking, but in reality the phone’s 3D powers might just be a flashy gimmick. After all, based on these reports, it’s not like the cameras and the sensors actually do anything spectacularly different from what other devices already do. Sure it will look cool, but it’s not exactly Project Tango.
The fact of the matter remains that people think they want 3D, but every time a new manufacturer tries to deliver an amazing 3D product, whether it be a smartphone, a game console, or a TV, it flops. Both of LG’s 3D smartphones failed miserably and simply irritated users. The HTC EVO 3D didn’t fare much better. Sure, these devices were made back in 2011, so the technology has improved, but we’re not sure 3D is really what the people want.
Amazon's Smartphone Is Coming on June 18 with 3D Effects | Digital Trends