Amazon Fire: Here's The Rub

Amazon finally unveiled Wednesday its long-anticipated smartphone. So what's the verdict?

Dubbed Fire Phone, it incorporates a couple of differentiated technologies such as Firefly and dynamic perspective. I find them impressive.

Yet I don't think I'm alone regarding Amazon's strategy -- pushing its own hardware, not the app, so closely tied to its own store and services -- somewhat puzzling and even a little offensive. With so many smartphones to choose from, why would any consumers opt for a Fire Phone, which is blatantly self-serving for Amazon and doesn't even include the Google Play store?

Database of coded objects

First, let's talk technology. Integrated into the phone is Firefly, a feature that's designed to recognize over 100 million items, according to Amazon, from the information Fire Phone captures through its cameras and microphone.

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