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Amazon’s upcoming smartphone is to feature tilt control as a primary method of navigation, it has been claimed.
BGR, citing “multiple trusted sources”, said that “Amazon’s upcoming handset will utilise a unique combination of cameras, sensors and software to dramatically change the way users interact with a smartphone”.
The firm’s currently unannounced smartphone will apparently feature four low-power infrared cameras on the face of the device that track the user’s head in relation to the phone’s display.
This hardware had previously been reported to allow the phone’s unique 3D user interface to function, but it now appears that it will also double as an innovative way to control the phone.
By tilting the device in different directions, the 3D interface will reveal additional information on the screen without the user having to use the touchscreen – for example, tilting while in an email application will reveal labels for icons, while tilting in a map app will display Yelp ratings and tilting in the Amazon video store will similarly show ratings from IMDb on top of each movie’s thumbnail.
In addition, tilting to the left or right in certain applications will pop up extra menus and features, which slide in from the relevant side. For example, books being read using the Kindle application can be flipped through by tilting the phone up or down, it was said.
The idea behind the concept is to allow users to easily operate the phone with only one hand.
The sources added that Amazon’s debut smartphone also includes a feature that will allow users to photograph images of signs and other objects with printed text, before automatically converting the captured text into a note using technology including optical character recognition (OCR).
The captured information can then be used in a variety of ways – for example, by creating a new contact using details saved from a business card, or translating foreign text to English.
