Report: Amazon Working on 3D-Capable Smartphone

By Seth Fiegerman2013-05-09 18:24:40 UTC

For more than a year, there have been rumors that Amazon is working on a smartphone. Now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon is actually working on two.

The Journal reported Thursday that Amazon is "developing a wide-ranging line-up of gadgets," including two smartphones, one of which will have a 3D screen. Citing multiple anonymous sources, the Journal says the 3D-capable smartphone will not require special glasses and may even let users navigate just by moving their eyes.

In addition to the two smartphone models, Amazon is also said to be working on a device for streaming music and a set-top box, the latter of which was also reported by Bloomberg BusinessWeek last month.

Amazon did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Until now, Amazon's hardware efforts have centered around its Kindle e-readers and tablets. However, CEO Jeff Bezos suggested in an interview with AllThingsD in September that Amazon was planning to expand on its hardware offerings in the coming year. "We will certainly — not any time soon — but next year. We have some more things that we hope people will enjoy," he told the publication. "It’s premature for me to talk about them."

While it's not particularly surprising to hear about Amazon working on a smartphone, it is a bit strange to hear news of a possible 3D-enabled device. Despite a fair amount of hype a couple years ago, 3D-technology has had mixed success at best in the consumer technology market.

Amazon's stock was up by about 1.5% on the day as of publication.

Image via Getty, Lionel Bonaventure

Topics: amazon, Gadgets, smartphone, Tech if(window.pageChanged) window.omni({"channel":"tech","content_type":"article","top_channel":"tech","content_source_type":"Internal","content_source_name":"Internal","author_name":"Seth Fiegerman","age":"0","pub_day":9,"pub_month":5,"pub_year":2013,"pub_date":"05/09/2013","isPostView":true,"post_lead_type":"Default","topics":"amazon,Gadgets,smartphone,Tech,Uncategorized"}); metaData = {"link":[["canonical","http://mashable.com/2013/05/09/amazon-smartphone-3d-screen/"],["image_src","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA5L2IzL0FtYXpvbi5lMmUxNC5wbmcKcAl0aHVtYgk3MjB4NzIwIwplCWpwZw/922e07e5/e5b/Amazon.jpg"]],"meta_property":[["og:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/09/amazon-smartphone-3d-screen/"],["og:title","Report: Amazon Working on 3D-Capable Smartphone"],["og:type","article"],["og:site_name","Mashable"],["og:image","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA5L2IzL0FtYXpvbi5lMmUxNC5wbmcKcAl0aHVtYgk3MjB4NzIwIwplCWpwZw/922e07e5/e5b/Amazon.jpg"],["og:article:published_time","2013-05-09T18:24:40Z"],["og:article:modified_time","2013-05-09T19:02:48Z"]],"meta_name":[["description","For more than a year, there have been rumors that Amazon is working on a smartphone. Now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon is actually working on two. The Journa..."],["keywords",["amazon","smartphones","uncategorized","tech","gadgets"]],["twitter:title","Report: Amazon Working on 3D-Capable Smartphone"],["twitter:description","For more than a year, there have been rumors that Amazon is working on a smartphone. Now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon is actually working on two. The Journal reported Thursday tha..."],["twitter:image","http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA5L2IzL0FtYXpvbi5lMmUxNC5wbmcKcAl0aHVtYgk1NjB4NzUwCmUJanBn/e89fc6fc/e5b/Amazon.jpg"],["twitter:site","@mashable"],["twitter:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/09/amazon-smartphone-3d-screen/"],["twitter:creator","@mashable"],["twitter:card","photo"],["twitter:image:width","560"],["twitter:image:height","750"]],"short_url":[["short_url","http://on.mash.to/130MxX0"]]};

View the original article here