Amazon is rumored to be in development of an Android based smartphone which is likely to complement its range of the Kindle Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers. The report came as two anonymous sources reported the news to Bloomberg that Amazon is collaborating with the Chinese factory Foxconn for building its new smartphone. It is also believed that the online retail giant is acquiring patents related to wireless technology, in order to remain protected from law suits.
An Amazon phone seems to be a project which was planned a long time ago. this is because in August, VP Greg Hart applied for a patent for an airbag, which is designed to protect smartphones from breaking. There are also rumors that Amazon might be developing a mapping service. Such a service would give a great boost to Amazon as at the moment none of their devices have GPS enabled.
An Android based smartphone by Amazon is likely to be a competitor for Apple’s iPhone and other companies who are currently ruling the smartphone market, including HTC, Samsung, Sony and the like.
We will have to wait and see if Amazon uses the same strategy of undercutting its rivals with a low price. Considering that Amazon does not make all its profits from the hardware and relies on selling its books, music and movies via Kindle Fire, a smartphone developed on the same marketing strategy can be a major threat to companies developing Android, iOS and WP7 devices. Furthermore, a smartphone will also increase the value of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets and the content sold via such devices. This is because the owners of the content will acquire access to their digital files more conveniently. For example, iPhone users can already read Kindle books, enjoy music stored on Amazon Cloud Player and shop through Amazon.com. An Amazon smartphone can bridge the gap further by providing additional features such as perhaps the option to stream Amazon’s Instant Videos.
