Amazon Fire Phone hands-on

Recently, we got a chance to spend a tiny bit of quality time with the Amazon Fire Phone at an AT&T press event in New York City. The retail giant’s first ever smartphone is now available in the United States for $199 with a two-year contract or $649 outright.

The Amazon Fire Phone’s specs include Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of non-expandable memory, and 4.7” 720p LCD display. A 13MP f/2.0 camera with OIS, dual stereo speakers, 2,400 mAh battery, and dynamic perspective sensor system complete the highlights. The dynamic perspective sensor system utilizes four camera sensors.

Amazon Fire Phone live photos

The handset runs Amazon’s heavily modified Android build, dubbed Fire OS 3.5. As is the case with all Amazon devices, the Fire Phone does not offer access to Google Play apps and services – you will have to make do with Amazon’s own solutions.

In the flesh, the Amazon Fire Phone looks like an Amazon-branded hybrid between LG Nexus 4 and a Samsung Galaxy S handset. However, the large retailer’s logo on the back of the device leaves no doubt about its brand affiliation.

Build quality of the device is exceptional. The Amazon Fire Phone feels as solid as it gets with its screen and back covered by Corning Gorilla Glass. Its frame on the other hand is made of high quality polycarbonate.

We didn’t get much time to dig into the device’s Fire OS. At a quick glance, the UI looks sleek and runs smoothly. The dynamic perspective looks cool too, though we are yet to find out how it fares on a daily basis.

A glimpse at the dynamic perspective look

After our short stint with the Amazon Fire Phone, we came out curious to find out more about the handset. We will update you accordingly when we get our hands on a proper review unit.