With the Kindle being Amazon's only tablet product, the company may have realized that it cannot be fully relied on during this very competitive business of digital content. Therefore, Amazon is in the process of developing a smartphone of its own that would compete with the iPhone and handheld devices that run Google Inc. (GOOG)'s Android operating system.
The device that Amazon is developing will run Google's Android platform, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. is a Chinese mobile-phone maker which builds some Apple products (including the iPhone), and they are working with Amazon to develop the smartphone. There is a possibility that it will be a budget phone. Pricing has been a feature that caused Amazon to stand out from the pack. The Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet costs $199, compared to the iPad cost of $499.
Amazon creating a smartphone could possibly be looked at as a good idea, as it would give the company a wider variety of low-priced hardware devices that strengthen its strategy of making money from digital books, movies and songs.
According to Bloomberg, Drew Herdener, a spokesman for Amazon, declined to comment.
Just this year, Amazon has been involved in five patent-related cases and 20 cases last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. As shown recently by Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and its thousands of patents, demand for mobile patents has increased.
There have been no official release date for Amazon's Android smartphone mentioned.
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