Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Amazon Fire Phone Reviews: Solid But Overly Ambitious

Posted by Soulskill on from the disturbing-lack-of-actual-fire dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Amazon's Fire Phone launches later this week, and the reviews have started to come in. The hardware: "There's nothing terribly special about the Fire Phone's hardware, but there's very little to turn you off either." "The nice-looking IPS display in the Fire Phone gets bright enough for outdoor viewing, and it has nice viewing angles—a necessity for a phone that's meant to be tilted around and looked at from every which way." "An indistinct slab of glass and plastic, the Fire Phone looks more like a minimalist prototype than a finished product."

Software: "Firefly can recognize lots of things, but it's incredibly, hilariously inconsistent." "Firefly is the one Fire Phone feature you'll want on any phone you're currently using. Let's hope that it gets enough developer support that it isn't just a link to Amazon's storefronts." "First, and to be absolutely clear, Dynamic Perspective will impress you the first time you see it, and Amazon is pretty good at showing it off. ... But if there's some cool, useful functionality to be had from super-aggressive, super-accurate face tracking, the Fire Phone doesn't have it." Conclusion: "Smartphones are for work, for life. They're not toys, they're tools. Amazon doesn't understand that, and the Fire Phone doesn't reflect it."

16 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. But... by Cornwallis · · Score: 4, Funny

    "But if there's some cool, useful functionality to be had from super-aggressive, super-accurate face tracking, the Fire Phone doesn't have it."

    The NSA appreciates it tho.

  2. How thrilling... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A phone with fairly tepid specs being sold for a flagship price (and AT&T SIM-locked, only) supported by one largely useless gimmick and a dedicated 'buy stuff on amazon' button.

    Where do I sign?

    1. Re:How thrilling... by slinches · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, but only because Amazon refuses to release the app for Android because they want you to buy a Kindle/Fire Phone instead, so you can be locked into their walled garden.

      --
      Knowledge Brings Fear
    2. Re:How thrilling... by Dixie_Flatline · · Score: 2

      I think the specs race is basically over. Apple's specs allow them to make a fast phone in a small body with relatively good battery life. Android phones are generally made with the same 'generic' parts, and have comparable battery life by virtue of having a bigger case to cram a battery in. But all told, the phones are pretty close together, no matter what tricks each company is playing. (And I would argue that battery life is becoming a more dominant spec request as time goes on. I'd much rather have a longer lasting battery than a bigger screen, for instance.)

      At this point, it comes down to being able to differentiate on things other than specs. The Android space is crowded. At the flagship level, everything is pretty close to everything else. Samsung is being reined in a bit on its Android modifications, so what we're looking at now is a bit of a race to the bottom on price.

      So the specs for the Fire may be 'tepid', but they're probably not actually bad in any relevant way. The phone will hold up for at least a couple years. Amazon's only chance for their phone is to provide a compelling ecosystem, and they don't actually need to be the leader of the pack on specs to do that.

      I don't disagree that this phone isn't actually that compelling, but it's not the specs that are sinking it. It could have top-of-the-market parts in there and you'd still shrug at it because the OS and Amazon integration just aren't good enough. The device just has too few merits to warrant much attention, in my opinion.

  3. they're also toys though by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Smartphones are for work, for life. They're not toys, they're tools."

    Eh, if that were strictly the case, the market would be a lot different. Smartphones are a lot of things: tool, toy, fashion, entertainment.

    --
    10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
    1. Re:they're also toys though by jratcliffe · · Score: 2

      Posting to remove moderation error (meant to click insightful, accidentally hit redundant!).

  4. Bias by Himmy32 · · Score: 2

    If you don't want to listen to nerds or think this site has a bad bias, then the comment section probably isn't for you. Whenever you get a group of like minded individuals together, you are obviously going to get biased opinions reflecting their mindset. That isn't always a bad thing.

  5. Content is the King! by martiniturbide · · Score: 2

    The problem are not the devices, Google TV, Rouku, Fire TV.... and now Android TV are solid platforms, very nice to use, very powerfull, with a lot of potential. But the content is the problem. Netflix is good, but people just don't complete erase Live TV from their mind with they use it. Live TV should be a part of any intelligent TV device, broadcaster needs to stop being local and start being World Wide. The broadcaster needs to re-evaluate their buiness to really have a "SmartTV" take off.

    I insist that we need the final "YouTube" for Live TV. Let all the broadcast to join it and put their live content on a single WW catalog.

    1. Re:Content is the King! by disposable60 · · Score: 2

      Don't confuse Broadcaster (local, with local ads, and merely 'affiliated' with a network) and the Network (National, with national ads). The broadcasters's business model strongly resembles the car dealerships', and just like Tesla is getting well-funded pushback from the dealers, a proposed change in that model will get pushback from the state and local pols that depend on local TV to advertise in their districts.

      --
      You're looking for quotes? See my journal.
  6. Re:Face tracking? by CaptnZilog · · Score: 2

    You want to let the NSA get a full 3D representation of your face, from multiple angles, just to make sure the citywide cameras can track you everywhere, so their job is far easier for them?

  7. Oxymoron? by gunner_von_diamond · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Firefly can recognize lots of things, but it's incredibly, hilariously inconsistent." "Firefly is the one Fire Phone feature you'll want on any phone you're currently using.

    Why would I want to have a software feature on the phone i"m currently using that is incredibly, hilariously inconsistent?

  8. Re:Face tracking? by Triklyn · · Score: 2

    well... everybody's just driving along fine, it's a four lane highway. Traffic is moving nicely. this is the current market.

    Boom, you get to drive on the shoulda now mutha fucka.
                          Dynamic Perspective.

  9. Pointless by sjbe · · Score: 2

    It's a way to make the display appear 3D.

    That's what it does but not why you would want it. Like others here I'm failing to see any utility for this "feature". It's sort of cool as a technology demo but I just can't see any practical use for this. It does sound like a great way to reduce battery life, slow the interface, and create unnecessary bugs however. Possibly with a motion sickness chaser for some folks!

  10. Silk browser by shoes58 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Had a Kindle I won at a work raffle. The Silk browser was such a huge bag of suck! And they won't let you install a different one. Oh sure, maybe there is a hack for it somewhere, but I couldn't be arsed to find one. I just bought a Nexus 7 and use the kindle to prop a window open. Wouldn't touch this phone on a bet..

  11. Can't take the sky away however by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    On the plus side, at least it can't take the sky from you...

  12. First try by nospam007 · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Firefly can recognize lots of things,"

    Nice for a first try, but thanks, I'll wait for the Serenity model.