Mysterious Amazon launch event planned June 18

Amazon on Wednesday put out word of a June 18 mystery event at which founder Jeff Bezos will launch something new.

Online speculation immediately centered on the potential for the Seattle-based online titan to unveil a Kindle smartphone, perhaps with 3D graphics and motion-sensing capabilities.

Amazon invited people to request invitations at website amazon.com/launchevent and even teased the mysterious event in a video posted at YouTube.

The video, titled "Find out what these Amazon customers are talking about," featured people admiring something they were holding out of sight of the camera.

Comments included "it moved with me" and "it's very real life and uncomparable to anything I've ever seen."

For months, analysts have speculated about Amazon launching a smartphone that would be a companion to its Kindle tablets, which help keep consumers in the Amazon ecosystem.

Amazon is known for selling its tablets at low profit margins to compete with Goole and Apple and to be able to sell digital content including e-books and films.