Amazon Phone Could Have a Glasses Free 3D Display

There's been so much chatter regarding an Amazon smartphone that we're more inclined to think it's a matter of "when" and not "if" the mega online retailer will release one. The latest buzz coming from "people familiar with the plans" is that Amazon's handset will feature a 3D display that doesn't require any special glasses. It will use retinal-tracking technology so that images on the smartphone appear to hover above the display no matter which angle you're holding the device.

Even more nifty is that users will be able to navigate the menus and content using their eyeballs, The Wall Street Journal reports. There are challenges with such technology, of course, such as figuring out how that would work if more than one person is looking at the display, and making sure it responds appropriately without lag.

Amazon Building
Image Source: Flickr (A nosa disco necesítanoss)

The 3D smartphone is one of four hardware projects Amazon is working on behind closed doors at its Lab126 facility in Cupertino. Known as Projects A, B, C, and D, Amazon is building a set-top box, an audio streaming device, and perhaps a non-3D smartphone. The goal is to release these devices in the coming months, though performance or financial concerns could end development on any of the projects at any given time, so it's not a foregone conclusion that each device will see the light of day.