Amazon’s Fire smartphone looks set to light up mobile market

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos last night put Apple, Samsung and legions of online retailers on red alert with the launch of its new Fire smartphone, with the promise that the online giant would once again revolutionise shopping.

Bezos, in a rare media appearance, demonstrated Firefly, a service that lets the $199 (£117) phone identify any of 100m products within a second and link to the product on Amazon’s website.

“The Firefly button lets you identify printed web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, artwork, and over 100 million items, including songs, movies, TV shows, and products – and take action in seconds,” said Bezos.

The Fire will launch in the US next Wednesday on operator AT&T.