 The Amazon phone is coming. That's almost certainly what the company is going to announce at its big press event this Wednesday. If the months, the years really, of rumors are true, here's what we can expect. Much like its Kindle Fire tablets, the Amazon smartphone is expected to run a forked version of Android. Amazon even has its own App Store, which it says now has more than 240,000 apps and games. And rumors have long pointed to some sort of glasses-free 3D user interface. Supposedly, the phone's interface will move as the user tilts their head around and may even display more information about something when the phone is tilted. In fact, Amazon's teaser video all but confirms that with various scenes of head wobbling. No one's quite sure how the 3D technology will work or what it'll look like on the phone, but leaked photos suggest the device will track your head using upwards of four front-facing cameras. As far as specs go, BGR, which also posted the leaked pictures, says it has a 4.7-inch 720p display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. That would put it right in line with last year's Moto X, which is a decidedly mid-tier phone. Of course, the 3D might end up being nothing more than just a novelty. Where Amazon can really stand out is on cost. Amazon's always priced its devices aggressively, foregoing profits on the hardware in exchange for more people using Amazon services. It already uses advertising to offset the cost of its Kindle lineup and has experimented with interest-free payment plans for its Kindle Fire tablets. The Kindle Fire is nothing if not a portal to Amazon's storefront. It's a way to use its multitude of services like Prime Instant Video and now streaming music. But tablets are secondary devices, the ones you use when lying around the house or traveling. With a smartphone, Amazon could own your primary device, the one that's always in your pocket and constantly being used. All of this leads me to Mr. Pine's Purple House. Amazon sent attendees a copy of the book ahead of the event with a note from Jeff Bezos, who called it his favorite childhood book. It's certainly one of the weirdest gestures we've ever seen from a tech company. In the story, Mr. Pine had a little white house that looked exactly like the other 50 white houses on the street. So Mr. Pine paints his house purple. And while it inspires every other homeowner to paint their house different colors, nobody else chooses purple. So what's Amazon trying to say here? That it's found a way to stand out from the competition? That people will try to copy them but won't be the same? Maybe this whole event is just going to be a live reading of Mr. Pine's Purple House while members of the press actually paint Jeff Bezos' house. Either way, we wouldn't miss it. It's going to be something.
 The Amazon phone is coming. That's almost certainly what the company is going to
 announce at its big press event this Wednesday. If the months, the years really,
 of rumors are true, here's what we can expect.
 Much like its Kindle Fire tablets, the Amazon smartphone is expected to run a forked version of Android.
 Amazon even has its own App Store, which it says now has more than 240,000 apps and games.
 And rumors have long pointed to some sort of glasses-free 3D user interface.
 Supposedly, the phone's interface will move as the user tilts their head around and may even
 display more information about something when the phone is tilted. In fact, Amazon's teaser video
 all but confirms that with various scenes of head wobbling. No one's quite sure how the 3D
 technology will work or what it'll look like on the phone, but leaked photos suggest the device
 will track your head using upwards of four front-facing cameras. As far as specs go, BGR,
 which also posted the leaked pictures, says it has a 4.7-inch 720p display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon
 processor. That would put it right in line with last year's Moto X, which is a decidedly mid-tier
 phone. Of course, the 3D might end up being nothing more than just a novelty. Where Amazon can really
 stand out is on cost. Amazon's always priced its devices aggressively, foregoing profits on the
 hardware in exchange for more people using Amazon services. It already uses advertising to offset
 the cost of its Kindle lineup and has experimented with interest-free payment plans for its Kindle
 Fire tablets. The Kindle Fire is nothing if not a portal to Amazon's storefront. It's a way to use
 its multitude of services like Prime Instant Video and now streaming music. But tablets are secondary
 devices, the ones you use when lying around the house or traveling. With a smartphone, Amazon could
 own your primary device, the one that's always in your pocket and constantly being used. All of this
 leads me to Mr. Pine's Purple House. Amazon sent attendees a copy of the book ahead of the event
 with a note from Jeff Bezos, who called it his favorite childhood book. It's certainly one of the
 weirdest gestures we've ever seen from a tech company. In the story, Mr. Pine had a little
 white house that looked exactly like the other 50 white houses on the street. So Mr. Pine paints
 his house purple. And while it inspires every other homeowner to paint their house different colors,
 nobody else chooses purple. So what's Amazon trying to say here? That it's found a way to
 stand out from the competition? That people will try to copy them but won't be the same?
 Maybe this whole event is just going to be a live reading of Mr. Pine's Purple House while
 members of the press actually paint Jeff Bezos' house. Either way, we wouldn't miss it. It's going
 to be something.