Less than a month after denying rumors that it was planning to launch a phone, new details have emerged suggesting that Amazon is in the process of developing not one, but two smartphones. Details are sparse at the moment, but it’s believed that the e-tailer is working on an inexpensive device, as well as one that features a 3D eye-tracking interface.
This goes all the way back to details leaked by The Wall Street Journal earlier this year of ‘Project B,’ which supposedly refers to both devices. The updated codename for the expensive model is now ‘Smith.’
These renewed details all come from a Hacker News posting that appeared Wednesday, claiming that Amazon’s cheaper device will be launched this year, presumably in time for the holiday shopping season, while the more expensive one won’t appear on shelves until next year. The posting also claims that Smith’s screen isn’t 3D, but that four front-facing cameras located on the corners of the device will track the user’s head and eye movements to give the impression of 3D.
This information should, as always, be taken with a grain of salt, but it does match up somewhat with The Wall Street Journal’s report from earlier in the year, which also suggests an Amazon-branded set-top box is on the way.
Other details about Smith include a feature that will allow it to only track the user’s face, ignoring all others around it, ensuring that the 3D perspective is always properly positioned. This could potentially have the added benefit of making it harder for people to spy on your smartphone activity, but that isn’t the intention.
Amazon is also said to be working on a feature that will allow users to take a picture of any object and match it with the Amazon catalogue for purchase. This feature may not appear in the final device, though.
As for the cheap device, all that’s mentioned is that it will likely run the Fire OS seen on Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet line.
Edited by
Alisen Downey 
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