Amazon has waited for the right moment to plunge into the immense smartphone world, where the market is highly dominated by rival tech titans, Apple and Google. Wednesday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos finally announced the e-commerce company's first smartphone ever, the Fire Phone. In between the size of an Apple iPhone, and the popular, larger screened Android phone; Fire measures 4.7 inches, perfect for one-handed use. Fire may look like any other smartphone, but it has distinguishing features that not many others have, including head tracking technology, a 3D interface, and an item identifying camera. Bezos, in front of a crowd of 300 journalists, developers, and audience members at the event in Seattle, promised a the best phone for Amazon, and Amazon Prime customers.

The smartphone should “lock customers into its massive retail ecosystem”, and fit nicely into “Amazon's overall strategy: sell customers affordable devices that they will use to shop from Amazon”. But Fire Phone isn't merely for the purpose of “locking”. It comes with additional features for luring new and existing customers, such as Firefly, a new feature that can scan and recognize objects through its camera. Anything from phone numbers, music, books, and food; up to a hundred million different items in real-world situations can be identified. Conveniently and profitably, any product or item can be easily pulled up on Amazon for purchase. Amazon's true love, Prime, also ties in beautifully with Firefly, where countless entertainment features can be accessed via Fire Phone.

One of the most talked about features of the phone is a 13MP rear-facing camera, equipped with image stabilization and a f2.0 lens. Fire Phone's camera can be easily compared to the quality photos taken with the Galaxy S5, and the iPhone 5S. Inside Fire is a quad-core 2.2GHz chip, Adreno 330 graphics, and 2GB RAM. Unlimited photo storage comes through Amazon Cloud Drive, also free with purchase. The phone would be limited to Amazon's very own app store, which is increasing fast, with over 240,000 apps and counting. According to The Wall Street Journal, Fire Phone will be exclusive to AT&T. The phone is alleged to support a 3D effects interface. This, in addition to other specifics, such as cost, remain unclear at the moment. Amazon will be courting developers to make apps that will utilize 3D technology, and pricing should be aggressive and competitive.