Amazon to launch Kindle smartphones in Q1 2014: Report

According to a report by Digitimes which cites sources from the Taiwan's supply chain, Amazon has contracted Primax Electronics to manufacture compact camera modules (CCMs) for smartphones to be launched in early 2014.

The report also claims that the alleged Amazon Kindle smartphones will feature floating touch technology, which allows users to interact with the device's display without having to touch it at all.

The report informs that Primax Electronics will equip six CCMs for sensing on alleged Amazon Kindle smartphones. The report also mentions that the Primax Electronics have obtained an order to supply more than 50 percent of the CCMs for the Kindle range of smartphones. Unfortunately, there is no word on rumoured Amazon smartphone's innards and the software.

We expect the alleged Amazon smartphone to run a highly customised version of Android OS, with apps available through Amazon's Appstore instead of Google Play store, much like the Amazon Kindle tablets.

In October, a report claimed that Amazon has been working on two versions of the Kindle smartphone, a cheap one that would be released by the end of the year with software similar to that of the Kindle Fire tablet, and a more expensive version featuring a 3D UI that won't be released until at least next year.

The report added that the display on alleged Amazon Kindle smartphone would not be 3D itself, but that the front panel of the phone would feature four cameras placed on each corner of the phone to track the user's eyes/ head and move the UI to give the impression of 3D similar to iOS 7's parallax effect.