[General Topics] Planterz:
Yeah, I've read a few reviews from big-traffic sites, and none are particularly glowing. They all say the Dynamic Perspective thing is cool, but gimmicky, and doesn't really add anything. Plus some get people nauseous from it. You can turn it off though.

Firefly is the only thing I'd be interested in. I've always liked Amazon's app, because you can go to Best Buy or Wal*Mart or wherever, scan something's barcode, and see if it'd be better to buy it there, or off Amazon. Firefly supposedly can take a pic of any product and find it for you. Obviously, I'd rather see this in a stand-alone app, rather than only on their one phone. How long before Firefly gets ported to other devices.

The camera seems to be mediocre, the 720p screen, while honest is really "good enough" for most people, is a turn-off considering 1080p is the norm, the battery is a bit small (and not replaceable) .

The 3 biggest problems though are the AT&T exclusivity (although it has support for no less than 9 LTE bands), the initial price, and the lack of the Google Play Store.

The AT&T exclusivity alone could kill this phone. It worked for AT&T (Cingular) for the iPhone, because at that time, the iPhone was the Greatest Thing Ever, and it brought millions of people to AT&T. This phone is not the Greatest Thing Ever. It won't cause people to flock over (or back) with AT&T. Of course, it's possible that you could buy one, unlock it (especially if Obama does something right for once), and use it on other networks and in other countries, but in N. America, people will balk at the off-contract price, since they're so used to subsidized prices or payment plans.

Even the on-contract price is silly. Obviously, this phone isn't a cheapo, with all its cameras and SD800, but you can get an iPhone or Android flagship for as much or less. Who are the expecting to buy this phone? It ain't Android or iPhone owners. Maybe Windows Phone owners, since the app selection can't be any worse (can it?). People that already own Kindle devices would be whom I'd think Amazon would expect to buy this phone. But if one already owns a Kindle Fire, they most likely bought it because of the price, not the content. And I guarantee you that everyone that owns a Kindle Fire already owns an Android phone or iPhone. And owning one of those, they know the limited app selection from Amazon on their tablets compared to their Android or iOS devices, and are unlikely to want that limitation on their phone. A tablet is typically owned for entertainment, and as such isn't always carried around. One can forgive the lack of apps with a Kindle Fire (especially considering the price), but people are going to be unwilling to forgive that on their smartphone, and for so many people, a smartphone has become an integral part of their daily life, and few are going to trade that for a phone with limited apps and the functionality they're used to from Android and iOS.

The lack of Google Play Store I only mentioned because, technically speaking, this is an Android device. But really, as I touched upon, it's about the limited ecosystem of Amazon, and the comparison could equally apply to iOS. Android fans won't want this phone because it's so limited when it comes to the customizability inherent in every Android. iOS fans won't want this phone because of the lack of games/apps. The catch-22 of Windows Phone is a prime example of this. Too many people don't want to use Windows Phone because of lack of apps/games, and the developers of said app/games don't want to develop for WP because they're so few users and the money just isn't there. Amazon probably won't see quite as much isolation as WP, considering that it's using Android, and theoretically the only issue is availability, not compatibility, but it will still mean a comparatively limited ecosystem, which'll in turn mean a comparatively limited amount of apps/games that are available.

I might sound like a WP hater, but I'm really not. I don't like the platform, but that doesn't mean I don't want it to succeed. I WANT Windows Phone to succeed. I want them to innovate. I want them to be actual competition to Android and iOS, because only with competition will the other platforms improve. But the Fire Phone doesn't do that. It doesn't do that at all. The Kindle Fire tablets are important because they offer high specs at a low price, even with the limited ecosystem. The Fire Phone doesn't. There's really very little, if any reason, to buy this phone over an Android, an iPhone 5s, or waiting for the iPhone 6.