AT&T to Exclusively Carry Amazon Smartphone

AT&T will be the exclusive carrier for Amazon.com 's new smartphone, which is expected to be unveiled soon, according to people familiar with the plans.

The arrangement extends Amazon's relationship with AT&T, which also provides wireless service to Kindle tablets and e-readers. The move could help AT&T attract new subscribers at a time of intense competition among wireless carriers. Apple and Samsung Electronics have a tight grip on the smartphone market in the US with a combined 60% share in the first quarter, according to comScore.

Rival devices from makers like BlackBerry and Nokia have seen their market share shrivel as they failed to keep up with technology. Amazon hopes to distinguish its phone in a crowded market with a screen capable of displaying seemingly three-dimensional images without special glasses, according to a Wall Street Journal article citing people briefed on the plans.

The phone would employ retina-tracking technology embedded in four front-facing cameras, or sensors, to make some images appear to be 3-D, similar to a hologram, according to the story. Amazon is expected to introduce the device at an event in hometown Seattle and has demonstrated versions of the handset to developers in San Francisco and Seattle.