Amazon Plans to Release a 'Hologram' 3D Smartphone

Amazon has plans to release a 3D smartphone later this year, officially entering the hardware market as a major player against the likes of Samsung, Apple and HTC.

Amazon has plans to release a 3D smartphone later this year, officially entering the hardware market as a major player against the likes of Samsung, Apple and HTC.

The Wall Street Journal's Greg Bensinger and Evelyn Rusli report Amazon will formally announce the phone in June, with a targeted September ship date. What will set the Amazon phone apart from its competitors, though, is the glasses-free 3D technology. The Journal reports the phone will "employ retina-tracking technology embedded in four front-facing cameras, or sensors, to make some images appear to be 3-D, similar to a hologram," according to their sources. Which, frankly, immediately reminds us of the Princess Leia message from Star Wars, as seen above. 

If the Amazon Fire wasn't enough of an indication, the online retailer clearly has serious dreams of entering the hardware market. A splashy smartphone arrival will immediately establish Amazon as a major player. That is, if consumers bite. An Amazon phone's existence has been whispered about for some time now. Rumors last year said the Amazon phone would be offered for free, but those were quickly dismissed. But sometimes these things are more myth than reality, and the general public loses hope the idea will ever see the light of day. (See: rumors of a major Apple TV upgrade.) Now it seems Amazon is ready to finally bite the bullet and put a phone in people's hands. Just, you know, for a price.