Amazon launches its first ever smartphone in the UK but what can the Fire do?

The Fire Phone, which was recently launched in the UK, beats its competitor – Apple’s iPhone - to the punch by a whisker.

15:51 09 September 2014

 

Retailing giant Amazon has launched Fire Phone, its first ever smartphone in the UK, more than a month after the device was released in the United States.

Exclusively available on the 02 network, the phone features a product recognition app and comes with a free year of Amazon Prime, a subscription service that includes on-demand video, music and books.

Other features include four front-facing cameras to give a 3D effect on the screen. It also has 4.7 inch display, 32GB and 64GB storage options, a 2.2 GHz processor, and 2GB of RAM.

Fire is currently available for free on a monthly £33 contract from O2. Subscriptions include free one-day delivery on Amazon purchases and access to Amazon’s on-demand streaming library and more than 500,000 free Kindle books.

Amazon is optimistic despite selling only 35,000 units in the United States. However, the competition in the smartphone market is getting stiffer by the minute with both Sony and Samsung announcing new flagship devices last week at the IFA tech conference and Apple’s new iPhone dominating the competition.

 

Technical specs:

 

Size	139.2 mm x 66.5 mm x 8.9 mm
Weight	160 grams
Processor	2.2 GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, with Adreno 330 GPU and 2 GB of RAM
Display	4.7" (11.9 cm) HD LCD display, with 1280 x 720 resolution at 315 ppi, 590 cd/m2 brightness (typical), 1000:1 contrast ratio (typical)
Cameras	13MP rear-facing camera, multi-frame HDR, auto focus, optical image stabilisation, f/2.0 5-element wide aperture lens, LED flash 2.1MP front-facing camera
OS	Fire OS 3.6
Storage	32 GB or 64 GB (actual formatted capacity will be less)
Cloud Storage	Free Cloud storage for all Amazon content, and photos taken with Fire phone
Battery	Battery size: 2400mAh. Talk time: up to 17 hours; standby time: up to 285 hours. Video playback: up to 11 hours; audio playback: up to 65 hours. Battery life will vary based on signal strength, network configuration, device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results may vary.
Video recording	1080p HD video recording at 30 fps (front- and rear-facing cameras)
Audio playback	Dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio processing
TV and Video	Supports screen mirroring and Second Screen
Content formats supported	Audio: Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3), non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, PCM/WAVE, AAC LC/ELD, HE-AAC (v1 & v2), AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AMR-WB+, Audible Enhanced format (AAX); Video: MPEG4, VP8, H.264/MPEG4/AVC, MPEG4 SP, H.263, AVI, HDCP2.x, PlayReady DRM; Images: JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, GIF87a, GIF89a; Viewable docs: PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, DOC, DOCX, Kindle (AZW), KF8, TXT
Sensors	Dynamic Perspective sensor system with invisible infrared illumination, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor
Location	GPS, Assisted GPS, GLONASS, Wi-Fi/Mobile network location and Digital compass
Mobile	Penta-band UMTS/HSPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz), Duo-band DC-HDSPA (900, 2100 MHz), Quad-band GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 9 bands of 4G-LTE (bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17, 20)
Connectivity	802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, up to 300 Mbps with channel bonding; Bluetooth 3.0 wireless technology; NFC-enabled
Headphones	Premium, tangle-free headphones with remote and mic
Rating for hearing aids	M4, T4
SIM Card	Nano SIM card (not included)
Ports	Micro USB 2.0 3.5 mm headphone
Warranty and Service	2-year Limited Warranty included.
Included in the Box	Amazon Fire Phone with Fire OS 3.6 Premium headphones with remote and mic Micro USB to USB charging cable USB power adaptor (9W) Sim Removal Tool Quick Start Guide
Other Information	Amazon Fire phone is locked to O2, which means it will only work with a O2 SIM card. For information regarding unlocking Fire phone, please contact O2 on 0344 8090202. Amazon Fire phone is only available for purchase by customers living in the UK.