Despite rumours late last year that Amazon would launch at least one oft-rumoured smartphone in 2014, it’s been quiet on that front since then. It now appears though that Amazon is still working on its smartphone project. According to The Information, Amazon is looking to move ahead with at least one phone which is codenamed “Project Aria” internally.
The report adds that Amazon is looking for partners outside of the U.S. It has reportedly held talks about a possible launch in China, Europe, Latin America. It is also looking to offer its smartphone in the U.S. through multiple but unnamed carriers. As it does with its Kindle Fire tablets, content such as its Instant Video service is likely to be a significant differentiator for Amazon in the U.S. It will likely face a much tougher challenge in other markets where it does not have the same breadth of content and services to offer.
No details were provided about the Project Aria smartphone itself but the fact that Amazon is shopping it around globally suggests it may be a device geared at emerging markets and a lower price point (or even free perhaps). If so, earlier rumours have indicated that it may come with LTE connectivity, a Qualcomm chipset and FireOS, Amazon’s own forked and heavily modified version of Google Android.
Past rumours had suggested Amazon was working on two smartphones, a cheaper one and a higher-end model. The latter, codenamed Smith, reportedly comes a 3D eye-tracking interface.
Amazon has reportedly held talks with a number of manufacturers as far back as last spring. But it’s not clear at this point if a partner has been chosen yet. Earlier rumours had suggested that HTC may be Amazon’s hardware partner but it’s unclear if that deal has been finalized or if Amazon has chosen another partner instead.
There are no specific details as to when the Project Aria smartphone could launch beyond a very general “sometime this year” timeframe.
Sources : The Information // TechnoBuffalo