Foxconn Working On Amazon Smartphone – Report

Rumours that Amazon is preparing a smartphone have surfaced again, with two people with “knowledge of the matter” telling Bloomberg that plans are well underway for a phone to be made by iPhone manufacturer FoxConn.

Speculation that Amazon is looking to enter the market has persisted ever since the launch of the Kindle Fire tablet last year, with Citigroup suggesting that one was imminent last year. This has intensified recently after Amazon bought mapping startup upNext, possibly to use its technology in any potential smartphone.

Kindle smartphone?

The Amazon smartphone would run Google’s Android mobile operating system and is being worked on by Foxconn, which also manufactures iPhones and iPads for Apple, according to reports.

Amazon is also keen to acquire patents that cover wireless technology to help it avoid allegations of infringements that have afflicted several other manufacturers. The Google Nexus 7, unveiled only last week, has been accused of infringing patents owned by Nokia. Amazon itself has been involved in five patent-related cases this year and 20 last year.

The move would give Amazon another piece of low-cost hardware, on which it would hope to sell content such as music, movies and digital books. It would mirror the strategy of the Kindle Fire, which is sold at a loss in order to expand its user base.

It has proved massively successful, shifting millions of units in the US, despite a mixed critical reception. However it has not been released in the UK and Amazon has not announced any plans to do so as yet.

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