The Amazon Fire smartphone has at long last begun shipping in the UK on the O2 network.
Announced in June, it seems like an age since we first heard word of the online department store’s first entry into the smartphone arena after burning a niche in the e-reader-stroke-tablet market and after the Amazon Fire was launched in the US on July 18th there’s been a two month wait for the UK to feel the heat.
Now released, those curious about Amazon’s debut mobile offering, which utilises a custom Android 4.4 KitKat OS, can sample it on the O2 network from today and will experience a 4.7-inch HD touchscreen displaying a “3D interface”, 2.2GHz processing courtesy of Qualcomm and the ability to clock up to 4G data speeds are amongst the Fire’s respectable specs.
The handset will be free on contracts from £33 per month and above with the basic package providing 2GB of data, 5GB will be available for £43, 8GB for £43 up to a maximum 20GB costing £53. For those demanding a bit more storage the 64GB model is available too offering double the basic for £38 again with 2GB data package for £38 per month, 20GB for £48 per month and a peculiarly the 8GB is price matched for both 32GB and 64GB model. Both models and all packages come with unlimited call time minutes.
Amazon features are notable throughout including communications tool Firefly and Mayday, which is live customer service at the touch of a screen. As an added incentive Amazon is throwing in a free membership to its Amazon Prime service which allows access to a massive library of digital entertainment including movies, TV and books.
The Amazon Fire is available now on the O2 store with free next day shipping.