Amazon's Kindle phone: will the retail giant move into the mobile market?
Following 2011's launch of the Kindle Fire tablet, rumors abound that Amazon will follow it up with a smartphone that leverages the retailer's content library in a similar fashion. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have both reported on the device's existence so far, and we'll be keeping you updated on the latest information right here in this StoryStream.
Amazon building smartphone with a 3D screen, says WSJ
It's been long rumored that Amazon is working on a phone, but according to a new Wall Street Journal report, that phone may have a 3D display. Anonymous sources say that Amazon is actually working on two phones, including a high-end model with a glasses-free 3D display, a concept that was tried some years ago with the Evo 3D smartphone. It could also, they said, have eye tracking for control — something Samsung has been working on in a more limited capacity. Some sources have said users...
Exclusive: Amazon phone confirmed, could be announced tomorrow
Amazon's updated Kindle Fire and new backlit "Paperwhite" Kindle e-reader have already leaked out ahead of the company's event tomorrow, but there may be one more surprise in store: a mobile phone. Multiple sources have confirmed to The Verge that Amazon is working on a smartphone that runs a variant of the Kindle Fire's Android-based operating system, and we're now hearing that the device will be shown to the press tomorrow.
The phone itself is said to be currently unfinished, so if Amazon...
Microsoft
Another Windows Phone Director joins Amazon ahead of rumored smartphone debut
Robert Williams, Microsoft's former Senior Director of Windows Phone business development, has joined Amazon this month. Williams' lists his new role as Amazon's App Store director in his LinkedIn profile and a tweet, spotted by Win Gadget News, reveals he's still using a Windows Phone to check in at his new employers headquarters in Seattle.
Previously responsible for Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, Williams is the second high profile exit from Microsoft's Windows Phone team to Amazon in...
Mobile
WSJ: Amazon smartphone in testing, may go into production this year
Rumors about an upcoming smartphone from Amazon are picking up steam — last week Bloomberg reported that one was on the way, and today the Wall Street Journal is saying much the same. According to the Journal's sources, the device is currently undergoing testing with Asian suppliers and may go into mass production "late this year or early next year." It's said by one person to have a screen of "between four and five inches," which doesn't sound like a difficult guess — any hypothetical...
Mobile
Amazon smartphone in development, says Bloomberg
Amazon is currently developing a smartphone, if Bloomberg's "people with knowledge of the matter" are to be believed. The report doesn't have a lot of details to go on, but the retailer is said to be working with Foxconn on the device, which will compete with the iPhone and Android smartphones. While Amazon's previous foray into manufacturing its own mobile hardware, the Kindle Fire tablet, technically ran Android, its software was so heavily modified that many have speculated that the...
Amazon or Facebook phone? 'Major' non-Google Android device coming this year, says Skyhook CEO
Will Amazon or Facebook launch their own phone this year? There's compelling circumstantial evidence for both: for Amazon, Jeff Bezos's team has already built a robust Android-based platform completely outside of Google's purview for the Kindle Fire, and they've got access to one of the most far-reaching retail distribution networks in the world. Facebook, meanwhile, has been flirting with smartphone rumors for years; the lackluster HTC ChaCha and Status never really explained those rumors...
