More details on Amazon's 3D smartphone emerge

More details have emerged concerning the innovative 3D smartphone Amazon allegedly has in the works.

We've been reporting on the rumours surrounding an Amazon smartphone since the end of 2011, and more recently we've learned that the online retail giant is planning a two-part raid on the smartphone establishment.

Now, further details have emerged concerning both handsets.
According to TechCrunch and a Hacker News posting, a range-topping Amazon smartphone code-named 'Project Smith' is in the pipeline, and as reported back in May it will utilise a 3D interface.

Apparently the screen itself won't be 3D as we know it, but it will instead feature four front-facing cameras that track the user's eye and head motions. The interface will then pan and shift accordingly, giving the illusion of full 3D without the headaches.

This would mean that you could move your head to 'peek' at interface elements that are just off screen, effectively expanding the usable screen area.

One other interesting feature that might utilise this extravagant four-camera setup is an object recognition system. This would allow you to take pictures of an object and have it automatically matched up with an Amazon item for purchase.

As you might expect, these features are said to be experimental, so the final product may well be a little less ambitious.

The second Amazon smartphone seems much more realistic, and much more in keeping with the company's tablet work up to this point.

It would be an affordable smartphone with basic FireOS software that's similar to the aforementioned Kindle Fire range. The device is rumoured to be set for launch by the end of the year, and is currently being tested under strictly secure conditions at Amazon's Lab126 facility.

It's been suggested that this cheaper Amazon smartphone would be heavily subsidised thanks to the tightly integrated Amazon ecosystem.