Amazon's long-awaited smartphone is apparently right around the corner, and today images of what looks to be an early prototype have been leaked by BGR. Unfortunately the pictured device is surrounded by a protective, screwed-on case that conceals the phone's true physical design. BGR claims the phone's screen measures 4.7 inches, which would make it noticeably smaller than the latest flagships from Samsung and HTC. It's also said to be a 720p display, which falls a bit short of the now-standard 1080p resolution found on the Galaxy S5 and HTC One. Amazon's smartphone is reportedly powered by an unspecified Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 2GB of RAM.

Interestingly, the shots reveal a total of five front-facing cameras. One will presumably used for pictures, video chat, and interacting with Amazon customer support via the company's signature Mayday service. But the four cameras located at each corner are more interesting, as they're the secret behind Amazon's "3D" experience.





Rather than require users to wear 3D glasses or include specialized display technology as Nintendo does with the 3DS, Amazon's phone reportedly relies on tracking technology to pull off its glasses-free 3D effect. Exactly what those cameras are tracking remains a subject of debate; BGR claims they follow the position of a user's face and eyes to simulate a 3D perspective as the phone is moved around. But earlier today, TechCrunch reported that there's no eye tracking involved. The two sites also disagree on how much focus Amazon will place on this feature; BGR claims Amazon is trying to showcase the technology at every opportunity — starting with parallax effects on the lock screen — while TechCrunch says 3D will be "very limited out of the box."

Both reports agree with the timeframe previously revealed by The Wall Street Journal: Amazon will announce the device by June, with plans to ship it to consumers by September. The software on board will be FireOS — Amazon's forked version of Android. But other factors like price and carrier support remain a mystery. Hopefully those gaps will start to be filled in as we roll closer to June.