Amazon to develop smartphone

By Alex Veeneman on July 6, 2012


A package from Amazon. Amazon is planning the development of a smartphone, according to reports.
(Photo courtesy of Flickr user soumit)

The internet store Amazon has announced plans to develop a smartphone to go up in competition to Apple’s iPhone.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Foxconn International Holdings, based in China, is working with Amazon to develop the phone, which would run the Android service operated by Google. Officials with the company confirmed the production plan but declined to elaborate, speaking on conditions of anonymity as the plans are currently private. Amazon, the Bloomberg report adds, is looking to obtain wireless technology patents which would help the company go against claims of infringement, as Amazon has faced lawsuits with regards to patents within the last year, including five this year and twenty last year, according to data analyzed by Bloomberg. The plan goes in the predictions of Mark Mahaney, an analyst with Citigroup, who told Bloomberg last November that the company would release a smartphone.

Many predict the move for Amazon, based in Seattle, to introduce a smartphone would be beneficial for the company to introduce its goods to a wider market, according to a report from the technology news site Mashable. Data analysis by the market research firm Gartner obtained by Mashable says nearly 470 million smartphones would be sold this year. In addition, nearly 120 million tablets would be sold this year, according to Gartner data.

Amazon is known for its distribution of tablets, such as the Kindle Fire and Kindle e-readers, going up against the Nook by the bookseller Barnes and Noble. The Bloomberg report adds that the smartphone release would also allow for a further distribution market for the company’s digital book offerings. It is not clear when the new device will be made available to global markets.

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