back to article 'Amazon plans iPhone-killing Android mobe' – report

It was only a matter of time before rumours started circulating that Amazon wanted to build a smartphone, since every tech firm worth their salt these days has to be rumoured to be taking on either the iPhone or the iPad. Since Amazon has already sort of taken on the iPad with its hugely successful ereader, it could now be …

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  1. Keith 72
    Flame

    What about the Kindle Fire?

    Google's Nexus release will do well in the UK because Amazon can't be bothered to push the Fire outside of the US.

    If they're considering going after the iPhone will that be in the US only too?

    1. 27escape
      Meh

      Re: What about the Kindle Fire?

      Not launching in the UK as they cannot gain any UK content rights. Nor can Google, but they will be pressing ahead anyway.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. LarsG
      Facepalm

      The point of this is what, another Kindle Fire for the US market?

      It would have to be either super cheap, or so much better than the iPhone, S3 and HTC efforts for anyone to even consider it.

      But will buyers put up with a cut back phone? They might do for a tablet but definately not a phone.

      1. David Webb

        It would have to be either super cheap, or so much better than the iPhone, S3 and HTC efforts for anyone to even consider it.

        It can be both, Amazon doesn't need to make an insane profit margin on their devices, they are a portal to Amazons primary service (selling stuff) so they could produce a high quality device at cost, or even at a loss and recoup the money through selling e-books or apps or anything else through their onine store.

        Once a company gets their claws into you, it's hard to leave, you tend to upgrade to the same supplier (Apple, Android etc.) because all your stuff won't work if you jump ship, so a customer now will most likely be a customer in 10 years time because they will have spent hundreds (or thousands) on content which they lose should they change OS.

        1. Peter2 Silver badge

          Well, yes and no.

          I have a Kindle, however i'm format independent as my books are from Baen ebooks (baen.com) and just downloaded in a format that the Kindle can use. Baen lets you download or read online as much as you want in any format you might want.

          Hence switching to a competing format will be fairly trivial in the future, should it be required.

  2. Darryl
    Thumb Down

    Pretty sad when part of your business plan has to be building up a patent portfolio that you can use as ammo in the inevitable ridiculous patent war with Apple & MS

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Holmes

      You say that as if Amazon was a stranger to patent litigation themselves:

      1-click patent litigation, anyone? Plus a nice arsenal of "Electronic gifting" and a ton more of both business and utility patents.

      If they're going to use an Android base and are buying patents themselves I'd be a bit worried if I was another manufacturer...

      1. vgrig_us

        "1-click patent litigation, anyone?"

        On yeah - that was a bad one. How ever - seems like Amazon got the message (screams really all over Internet) and behaved since.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Amazon haven't had the need to use them, since reportedly they took their then biggest competitor - Barnes & Noble - to the cleaners in that settlement. Unfortunately the Internet screams didn't do much in B&N's case...

          We'll see what they do when armed with patents and competing again. Since they'll be running their own ecosystem, do they really have to play nice? Ummm...

          1. vgrig_us

            Because B&N didn't fight beyond preliminary injunction...

            The terms of the settlement were not disclosed - so we'll never know how much B&N got "cleaned".

            Amazon is not a cuddly kitten, i agree. But in a very grey world we're living in - they're closer to off-white in my opinion.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              I hope you're right, their patent covering "A method and system for placing an order to purchase an item via the Internet." (US5960411) could catch a few unlicensed users out there...

              1. vgrig_us

                LOL - indeed, but just imagine Apple or Oracle or Microsoft holding that patent

  3. Kevin7
    FAIL

    No understated hyperbole then: "Amazon plans iPhone-killing Android mobe"

    How's the Kindle Fire doing against the iPad these days?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Crapple is coming out with a 7" iPad after saying it never would, so I would say the Fire is doing rather well.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What could possibly go wrong with an Amazon phone?

    "Callers who phoned Sensual Thai Massage, Harrow Road also phoned ... your wife!"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What could possibly go wrong with an Amazon phone?

      hasn't this sort of thing happened with Facebook where a woman found that facebook offered her the opportunity to "friend" another woman who also claimed to be her husband's wife.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If I was a betting person...

    ...I'd say that Apple would be running down the iPhone market and be ready to jump out with something new.

    My reasoning is that I find myself reading up on the iPhone and iPad and wondering what else can be done which would energise all but the hardest of fanbois to buy the next iPhone, and I have to admit to scratching my head; any extras can be done with software.

    2012/early 2013 would be the ideal time for Apple to steal another product march.

    This is all just personal thinking, I've got nothing solid to back this up.

    1. ducatis'r us
      Coat

      Re: If I was a betting person...

      That'll be the iMove, a personal matter transporter

      Mine's the one with a hole in the pocket as I've just found out

    2. Lewis Burgess
      Boffin

      Re: If I was a betting person...

      I know what you mean - the iPhone just isn't sparkling in some aspects compared with Samsung's offering.

      However, one of Apple's biggest cash cow's the App Store. It makes huge amounts of free money so why they'd choose to cut this off just because they couldn't be bothered to keep incrementing the iPhone each year with a slightly better spec, wouldn't seem sensible.

      That said, there's plenty they *could* do with the iPhone and yet still manage to disappoint the hardcore fanbois by not fulfilling 95% of their wet dreams.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: If I was a betting person...

      Then you'd be losing the bet. A generational stepchange in hardware power when available is generally combined with one of Little Jonny Ive's finest brand new designs to make it painfully apparent to all and sundry that you don't have the latest and greatest.

      Of course, they could do something other than what works, and trash the product line- but something tells me that love or hate them, Apple's strategists are a little brighter and well-informed than you.

  6. Matthew LaShure
    Thumb Down

    Really?

    Foxconn... there goes any hope that it would be a decent piece of hardware.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Looking for a bunch of wireless patents?

    That would be a serious fail. Follow google, buy a ton of FRAND-encumbered wireless patents, try denying apple the right to make a phone at all, get thrown out of court and investigated for patent abuse.

    They need to buy an early pioneer in smart phones who have plenty of non-FRAND patents covering things the iPhone is likely to be using.

    Or, they could develop something different enough from the iPhone that it doesn't infringe a huge number of patents, it stands out as fresh and unique in the market, tons of people buy in and it actually kills the iPhone in the market. Then they can patent it all, and stop other companies from copying them. Nah, that sounds like hard work.

    1. vgrig_us

      Re: Looking for a bunch of wireless patents?

      "develop something different enough from the iPhone"

      Huh? iPhone is very generic, very common in it's looks - really: Candybar phone with different aspect ratio a screen size.

      At leas original iPhone was something new, unseen before.

      And as far as OS - Android is already different from iOS, Win8 is different from iOS - yet Apple keeps suing. That's why Amazon needs patents.

      1. KroSha
        Paris Hilton

        Re: Looking for a bunch of wireless patents?

        "Huh? iPhone is very generic, very common in it's looks" and "at leas original iPhone (sic) was something new, unseen before"

        Which is it? Either it's generic or innovative. Please pick.

        1. ShadowedOne
          FAIL

          Re: Looking for a bunch of wireless patents?

          It *is* generic and it *was* innovative. If you can't figure out past and present tense, that's on you.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Acquisition

    Maybe they should wait a little bit and scoop up Nokia - plenty of patents there...

    1. Captain Save-a-ho
      Coat

      Re: Acquisition

      That was my first thought too. The bonus is that Nokia would get the ass kick it needs to get into high gear and stop fucking around with idiotic ideas like Windows Phone.

      Here's to hoping Jeff Bezos finds it cheaper to buy Nokia.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Acquisition

      Right idea maybe the wrong company. RIM has seen some large market gains the last couple of days.

  9. Callam McMillan
    Flame

    Patents

    Isn't it sad that before the engineers can even start looking at cool technology the eff'ing lawyers have to sit looking at patents?!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Patents

      It's an unfortunate necessity. If not for patents no company would ever create anything.

      Not everyone can live off advertising revenues or retail margins.

  10. jai

    Amazon?

    oh, you mean Foxconn-rebrander, Android-rewriter, Amazon?

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Problem is.

    Amazon appstore is a baren wasteland, and if you want to run Google store, you need to enable side-loading and thus opening up to malware.

    In otherwords, it's rouge vendors like Amazon that are responsible for Android's mostly bogus malware platform reputation.

    1. Mark #255
      Coat

      Re: rouge vendors like Amazon

      Ooh, must tell SWMBO - she was saying she needed more blusher.

  12. Cliff

    eInk? Could be a differentiator!

  13. Big_Ted

    OK I want to be first to ask.......

    Will it be nicknamed the Bezos Phone ?

    To be honest I can't see this working without either content or an amazing deal on data for streaming from Amazon Cloud not counting towards you monthly allowance.

    1. vgrig_us

      Nah - Reg will come up with nickname though. iPhone - "Jesus Phone", Amazon Phone - "Rain Forest Phone"?

      Let's hold a contest.

  14. toadwarrior
    Trollface

    So is this iphone killer going to bad as bad ass as the ipad killing kindle fire?

  15. Nev
    Thumb Up

    It's Amazon's existing worldwide data coverage...

    ... that could lead to an interesting mobile phonemarket debut.

    One well nailed together easy-to-use phone, one (hopefully cheap) and easily understood tariff:

    Boom.

    1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: It's Amazon's existing worldwide data coverage...

      "and easily understood tariff:"

      That will be dead in the water then. The networks have been shafted once (by Apple) so they will be reluctant to bend over again. You can be sure that the tariffs will be constructed in the most perverted way so that they will wring out the last drop of cach from the poor punter. SOP/BAU for them especially in the USofA.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's Amazon's existing worldwide data coverage...

      Amazon's existing data coverage is paid for by the astronomical download fees they slap on top of the commission charged to content publishers for every sale on Amazon's digital stores.

      It's still roaming, they haven't changed that, so they'll never give you the full - data intensive - web on it.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Kindle battery life

    A Phone with a 2 month battery life like the kindle, now that would be nice

    1. Toothpick
      Facepalm

      Re: Kindle battery life

      Already available. If you don't mind dragging a car battery around wherever you go.

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