Amazon has been rumored of making its own branded smartphone for years now. So it’s no surprise that we hear one more today. The giant e-commerce company not only plans to bring its own handset to market but offer it to customers for free, according to former Wall Street Journal reporters Amir Efrati and Jessica Lessin; who got word from someone close to Amazon’s inner workings.
If true, this would most definitely shake up the smartphone industry significantly, even more than when the first Kindle changed the tablet market with its low entry-level price. Of course this tactic is unheard of because of its unorthodox nature, no manufacturer or cellular provider just give away a handheld device without strings attached (ahem, two-year agreement).
That said, much like rumors of the past, no one has any specifics to when we can expect this unicorn-handset to grace us with its presence. So take this rumor with extremely high grains of salt until more details surface.
Amazon has pretty much done everything except for launching its own smartphone, so naturally, it would make sense for the company to venture into this untapped market. More products, mean more ways Amazon can solicit its goods to customers.
[Jessica Lessin; via GeekWire]