Report: Amazon phone being developed with Foxconn

Report: Amazon developing smartphone with Foxconn
More speculation that Amazon fancies a slice of the smartphone pie

Reports late on Thursday once again claimed that Amazon is currently developing a smartphone in the hope of replicating the success of its Kindle Fire tablet.

Those notorious 'people with knowledge of the matter' told Bloomberg that Amazon is working with long-time Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn on the device.

Another unnamed source said that the online retailer is currently sweeping up wireless patents to ensure any device would be as immune as possible from the current spate of infringement lawsuits.

However, aside from those two tidbits on the 'private' plans, the Bloomberg report doesn't give too much away.

In the works

An Amazon-branded smartphone has been rumoured for a while now, with reports last year claiming Foxconn and Amazon already had a device in the works.

At the time, analysts claimed the device would have a Kindle Fire-esque low price point and go on sale in Q4 2012.

Predictably, Amazon has declined to comment on this latest story, but the renewal of speculation adds further fuel to the flames.

If Amazon did follow-up the Kindle Fire with a smartphone of its own, it would almost certainly run the Android operating system, given that Amazon already boasts its own Android App Store.

The company would also hope customers would gobble-up Kindle books and subscribe to the Amazon Prime Video service in order to account for the low (if any) profit margins on the device.

Via: Bloomberg

Chris Smith

A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.