Well we had heard rumors of Amazon working on a smartphone. Now according to a new report, it looks like it’s been delayed, and so has Microsoft’s branded smartphone. But according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek, Amazon and Microsoft have delayed their plans for launching their own branded smartphones. So does that kind of confirm that both companies were working on their own smartphone? Well it looks like both companies were looking to launch their Kindle and Surface smartphone in mid 2013.
Last December, reports surfaced that Amazon was already placing an order with Foxconn to make 5 million units which would cost between $100-200 a piece. Sources have also claimed that Foxconn was working with touch panel makers Japan Display and Young Fast Optoelectronics to supply parts for the Kindle phone. But now according to Misek, we may not see the Kindle phone in mid-2013. “Our checks indicate that Amazon’s phone seems to have been delayed,” Misek said.
So if this is true, then that means Amazon was indeed looking to put out their own smartphone to go with the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD which was originally announced in 2011 and 2012 respectively, and have really put a fire under these manufacturers to sell tablets at cost, or near cost. The original Kindle Fire was $199, then the Nexus 7 came out at $199 which had better specs, and was stock Android and not a forked version. So then Amazon had to go a bit lower, to $149 for their next version. It would be interesting to see what kind of pricing Amazon does for their own branded smartphone.
So that’s that, and Amazon’s smartphone won’t be out in 2013. But that doesn’t mean 2013 is a bust for Android. We still have the Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3, HTC M7, and plenty others coming this year. Was anybody excited about an Amazon smartphone? Let us know in the comments below.