Third-party developers can now start building apps for the Amazon Fire smartphone

Jun 19, 2014 08:01 GMT  ·  By

Following the official launch of its Fire smartphone, Amazon also took the wraps off a series of tools that should allow developers to easily take advantage of the various capabilities that the new handset will arrive on shelves with.

First, there are a couple of Fire SDKs up for grabs for those willing to get started with building for the OS, featuring pre-built controls, and low-level APIs, as well as complete UI frameworks.

Applications designed for the Fire handset are, of course, built the same way that Android applications are, given that the Fire OS is actually based on Google’s mobile platform.

The Dynamic Perspective SDK, on the other hand, we made available for download with a series of APIs and Controls that allow developers to come up with peek, tilt and zoom capabilities for their applications.

Moreover, the developer tools will enable app builders to take advantage of the phone’s ability to track customer head movements, so as to deliver multi-dimensional game play, or quick navigation capabilities by tilting the device to the left or right.

“These experiences are created through a variety of visual effects including adding shadows, depth and tracking head and motion gestures,” Amazon explains in a post on its website.

“For example, you could create an app that allows you to peek at how many pages are left in the book you are reading, or browse your apps as if you were flipping through a physical file drawer. Flat cartoonish icons and graphics could be replaced with realistic visuals that use lighting, shadows and motion to create an experience you would want to show off at every opportunity.”

Furthermore, the Amazon Fire handset also comes with enhanced support for one-handed operations, while allowing users to control their devices with more than touches. Gestures that go beyond touch can be integrated inside games too, so that users could benefit from a more intuitive experience when playing them.

“Imagine moving a character on screen simply by titling the device instead of having to cover what’s on the screen with your finger,” the aforementioned blog post explains.

Finally, there’s the Firefly SDK, that Amazon has released today, which enables developers to deploy applications that are capable of recognizing real-world objects, including music, movies and more, and also provide users with the possibility to interact with them.

The Firefly SDK sports built-in recognizers and databases for a variety of items, including products, music, movies, URLs, and websites, in addition to offering built-in actions right from the start (including dialing a phone number, looking up an object on Amazon or going to a website).

Amazon has also informed that it is offering 500,000 Amazon Coins ($5,000 value) for each paid app or software with in-app purchase functionality that meets requirements for the Fire Phone.

Furthermore, Amazon has announced additional earnings for developers who take advantage of the Amazon Mobile Ads API, and that the Amazon App Testing Service now offers support for the new Fire smartphone as well.