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 company could apply the same formula to the mobile space. We recently heard from Skyhook’s CEO that a “major” new Android phone outside the Google Play ecosystem would be launching this year.

Amazon also currently runs its own Appstore for Android, which offers both apps for the Kindle Fire and a curated selection for devices from other manufacturers. With this and Amazon’s robust content selection across music, movies, and books, a hypothetical smartphone would have a ready-made ecosystem to slot right into. Bloomberg’s sources didn’t give any indication as to when such a phone might appear, but Amazon is reportedly working on building up a wireless patent portfolio that would allow it to release the device without fear of infringement allegations.