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Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi! 3D HOLO-PHONE hinted in Amazon vid

Unknown, eye-bugging device teased in 'super awesome' footage

Amazon plans to unveil a new device later this month, according to a video posted to the e-tailer's official YouTube channel.

The cryptic clip features a series of people waggling their heads at an unknown product and saying things like, "that is really cool," "that's super awesome," and "oh, woo."

"It's very real-life," says one advert participant, "and uncomparable [sic] to anything I've seen."

Just what this unnamed product is, however – other than that it will be a "device" – remains a mystery. But Amazon has long been rumored to be working on a number of disruptive tech products at its skunkworks "Lab 126" facility in Cupertino, California.

Based on the video, the front-runner candidate would appear to be a smartphone with a 3D holographic display, which Jeff Bezos' firm has been thought to be working on for some time.

Find out what these Amazon customers are talking about

According to the most recent murmurings on the subject – from no less than the Wall Street Journal – the device creates stereoscopic images without the need for 3D glasses by tracking the position of each of the user's eyes and projecting the appropriate image into each.

Other companies are working on similar tech, and a startup called Liquid 3D aims to specialize in providing depth-defying screens for other vendors.

If Amazon's new device is in fact a smartphone, it will signal the company's entry into yet another new market. Amazon has long sold other firms' mobes through its discount phone store, but so far it has not marketed an own-branded handset.

But getting into the phone biz wouldn't be much of a stretch for the e-commerce titan. Its Kindle Fire line of fondleslabs have done respectable business (though their sales pale in comparison to Apple's iPad line).

Amazon's tablets are based on a custom version of Android that's designed to steer customers toward buying books, music, movies, and even apps from the company's eponymous online store, rather than from competitors like Google Play. An Amazon smartphone is likely to do the same.

Whether Amazon plans to offer specialized 3D content for its rumored holographic handset is unknown.

Whatever the mystery device turns out to be, Amazon has said that it will announce it at a launch event on June 18. Anyone who would like to attend said event can apply for an invitation at this link. ®

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