Consumer Reports: Amazon Fire not a 'great phone'

Consumer Reports has completed its testing of Amazon's first smart phone, the Fire, and although it did earn a rating of "very good" experts are not wowed.

When the Fire was introduced, Consumer Reports was impressed with its 3D display and fire fly technology. It identifies objects by scanning them and can recognize songs and movies.

Now Consumer Reports has thoroughly tested the phone. For voice quality, it is not a standout, and rates about as good as other phones. The photo lab found the Fire does not take very good pictures, but its battery life is much shorter than many phones, including some from LG and Samsung.

"The Amazon Fire's bells and whistles are interesting, but it's not enough to make it a great phone," said Consumer Reports' Glenn Derene. "When it comes to core functionality, there are many better options."

Consumer Reports recommends the Samsung Galaxy S5, the HTC One and the newly-tested LG G3.