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June 09, 2014

The Amazon Smartphone: Finally Coming June 18?

The idea of a smartphone from Amazon has been on a lot of people's minds since it came out Kindle Fire. While opinion on such a release has been somewhat mixed, some believe that the likelihood of an actual Amazon smartphone launch may well accompany an upcoming Amazon event set to hit June 18, featuring CEO Jeff Bezos at a product launch.

A recent YouTube video fueled a large part of the speculation on this topic, with Amazon showing off a device out of frame, filming reactions to the device. The device, however, was not given further details beyond that, and this led to speculation that Amazon was finally ready to bring out the device that had been rumored to be part of the plans for some time: a smartphone. Reports indicate that there will be two versions of the device, a low- and a high-end model, with the high-end model offering glasses-free 3D viewing. Both devices, at last report, are set to boast retina tracking systems as well to help present that 3D.

On the one hand, this is a very good idea for Amazon. Consumers are increasingly demanding always-on Web access, and having a smartphone on hand is an excellent way to provide that. Throw in the fact that a large portion of Amazon's product line—books, video and music—can easily be delivered onto a smartphone screen and the idea makes its share of sense. What's more, the app market is on a steady growth track upward. New word from Analysys Mason suggests 70 percent of Amazon Kindle owners have paid for apps, which actually edges out the number who have done likewise on the iPad at 65 percent. Additionally, with mobile giants like Google, Apple and Facebook all looking to get in on Amazon's market space, for Amazon to put on a bigger push in the mobile sector itself just makes sense, especially given that Amazon only accounts for a single-digit percentage of worldwide tablet shipments—under 10 percent—as measured in 2013. But as we saw previously with the Kindle Fire, offering a budget experience that still delivers the value—especially as coupled with the impressive Amazon content ecosystem—can do some very big things in the market.

However, this doesn't come without some challenges in the field, mostly from the fact that in this case Amazon will be walking into a heavily entrenched market. The market is largely split right now between Android and Apple devices, and even Microsoft could only crack a slim portion of that market for itself. For Amazon to get in on smartphones, it's a fair likelihood the company will wind up fighting for the last scraps of the market, and one that's already largely saturated. Though the smartphone market grew a reported 21 percent last year, Apple and Samsung alone control nearly half of it at 46.6 percent combined.

Still, Amazon could use a presence in mobility. It might have been a better option for Amazon to look instead at wearable technology rather than joining in the heavily-clustered race for a new smartphone, but Amazon may well be able to make lightning strike twice. It did have something of a success with the Kindle Fire, so to believe that the Amazon smartphone could do well isn't at all out of line. Only time will tell how it all ultimately comes out, but it's a pretty safe bet that Amazon will end up with at least some piece of the broader market.




Edited by Maurice Nagle


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