Amazon took to social media and YouTube Wednesday with a cagey promotion for an upcoming launch event, setting off rampant Internet speculation that its long-rumored smartphone is about to be announced.
"Join Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos for our launch event," the company said on Twitter. The event will be June 18 in Seattle, which is where Amazon is based.
The tweet included a 50-second YouTube video showing people's reactions to some kind of device they are holding. The video never shows the actual device.
Amazon has been rumored to be working on a smartphone with retina-tracking technology to make some objects appear in 3-D without the use of special glasses.
Some of the remarks in the video suggest that the device could have 3-D technology.
"It moved with me," one person said. Others moved their bodies or heads while holding the device.
A separate Web page for requesting an invitation to the event shows a cropped image of a sleek, black rectangular device with the Amazon logo on it. Amazon customers, developers and journalists can fill out the form to request an invitation.
Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service. Follow Zach on Twitter at @zachminers. Zach's e-mail address is zach_miners@idg.com