WSJ: Amazon testing smartphones with 4-5" displays
On the heels of last week's report that Amazon is working on a smartphone, another mainstream media outlet claims the retailer is already testing handsets sized between four and five inches and could begin mass production of a device as early as late 2012.
The Wall Street Journal noted on Wednesday that sources among Amazon's parts suppliers report that testing of a smartphone is underway.
"Officials at some of Amazon's parts suppliers, who declined to be named, said the Seattle-based company is testing a smartphone and mass production of the new device may start late this year or early next year," author Lorraine Luk wrote.
Assuming the report is accurate, Amazon appears interested in releasing a phone with a large display, as one tipster claimed the online retailer is currently testing devices with screens between four and five inches.
The Journal's claims come on the heels of a Bloomberg report from last week said Amazon is working with Foxconn to produce a smartphone. The publication also suggested that Amazon is looking to buy up wireless-related patents in order to protect itself from intellectual property threats.
Hints of an Amazon-developed handset first emerged late last year. Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney told investors last November that channel checks with the Asian supply chain.
Amazon is expected to pose a credible alternative to Samsung and Apple, the current smartphone market leaders. It has been suggested that Amazon is likely to follow the same model it put forth with the Kindle Fire and fork the Android OS in order to better integrate it with its own products and services.
The Wall Street Journal noted on Wednesday that sources among Amazon's parts suppliers report that testing of a smartphone is underway.
"Officials at some of Amazon's parts suppliers, who declined to be named, said the Seattle-based company is testing a smartphone and mass production of the new device may start late this year or early next year," author Lorraine Luk wrote.
Assuming the report is accurate, Amazon appears interested in releasing a phone with a large display, as one tipster claimed the online retailer is currently testing devices with screens between four and five inches.
The Journal's claims come on the heels of a Bloomberg report from last week said Amazon is working with Foxconn to produce a smartphone. The publication also suggested that Amazon is looking to buy up wireless-related patents in order to protect itself from intellectual property threats.
Hints of an Amazon-developed handset first emerged late last year. Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney told investors last November that channel checks with the Asian supply chain.
Amazon is expected to pose a credible alternative to Samsung and Apple, the current smartphone market leaders. It has been suggested that Amazon is likely to follow the same model it put forth with the Kindle Fire and fork the Android OS in order to better integrate it with its own products and services.
Comments
Maybe Amazon can drop to a P/E of 15 (from, uh, 180!?) once they get into the product business? Or maybe Apple can run up to $8000 per share so that there's some P/E parity? I'd love to know what's actually holding Amazon in the realm of investment retardation and how it hasn't corrected yet.
Can't someone smarter than me check the FCC for evidence of a device submitted for approval?
I've never seen an FCC submission posted. I've only ever seen published results after it passes. Apple even has a history of getting the FCC to release the results on a given day, usually the day of or day after they officially announce a device.
I'll settle for the latter option, $8000 an AAPL share please /grin ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrstep
Maybe Amazon can drop to a P/E of 15 (from, uh, 180!?) once they get into the product business? Or maybe Apple can run up to $8000 per share so that there's some P/E parity? I'd love to know what's actually holding Amazon in the realm of investment retardation and how it hasn't corrected yet.
For those who are interested, courtesy of WolframAlpha:
It'll never work. Everybody knows you can't order from Amazon by phone. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm)
Those last two rows need updating ... Or will soon! Looking forward to my dividend payments this Fall.
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips
Those last two rows need updating ... Or will soon! Looking forward to my dividend payments this Fall.
That caught my eye too. Enjoy your dividend!
New Amazon Handset: Ring-Ring
Amazon Phone Customer: Hello?
Amazon Marketer: Hello Mr Smith, in exchange for providing our Amazon Kindle Shopping Phone to you at a significant loss, we'd like to offer you the opportunity to become an Amazon Prime member for only $79 a year.
Amazon Phone Customer: This is the tenth time you've offered me this! Stop calling!
Amazon Marketer: We're sorry Mr Smith, if you change your mind, you can simply tap on the unremovable 'Become an Amazon Prime Member' icon on your homescreen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrstep
Maybe Amazon can drop to a P/E of 15 (from, uh, 180!?) once they get into the product business? Or maybe Apple can run up to $8000 per share so that there's some P/E parity? I'd love to know what's actually holding Amazon in the realm of investment retardation and how it hasn't corrected yet.
I agree. I won't touch that stock with a barge pole. One day investors will be in for a nasty shock.
Amazon makes even Facebook stock look cheap, but Linkedin is the king of overvaluation.
so when will be see the Amazon Car or the Amazon Garbage Collection Service?
Other companies do this too and make money from it, so seeing as the trend these days is to copy something successful and try get into "a piece of that pie" why dont they try and diversify completely and offer a service in pretty much everything. Amazon Airline, Amazon Oil, Amazon Fridges etc
Not just pointing the finger at Amazon here, Facebook, Google and loads of others are doing the same thing. "We have no experience in this market, but we see others making money, so now we are joining this bandwagon"
Lads, stick to what you know best... new markets are great, but you have to have a sound reason to get into it, and it seems like the reasoning these days is based on what "cool and popular"
Place must be run by cheerleaders. Save the cheerleader, save the world.
Foxconn already makes products for other competitors to Apple so your point is mute. Foxconn is a business, that makes money just like Apple. Diversify or die that is the nature of business. What if Apple decides to split production or shift product production away from Foxconn and they failed to add other products to their hundreds of factories what then.
Quote:
Originally Posted by markbyrn
New Amazon Handset: Ring-Ring
Amazon Phone Customer: Hello?
Amazon Marketer: Hello Mr Smith, in exchange for providing our Amazon Kindle Shopping Phone to you at a significant loss, we'd like to offer you the opportunity to become an Amazon Prime member for only $79 a year.
Amazon Phone Customer: This is the tenth time you've offered me this! Stop calling!
Amazon Marketer: We're sorry Mr Smith, if you change your mind, you can simply tap on the unremovable 'Become an Amazon Prime Member' icon on your homescreen.
Amazon will be selling their "rumored" smartphone or Phablet to carriers, its not a WiFi only device like the Kindle or Kindle Fire. So they WILL make a profit on it and a good profit at that. Plus they can lock users in with their Amazon Prime, media services and other benefits. Apple is hardly the only game in town.
That's certainly not evidence of anything.
Doesn't sound very hard for hardware; China is crawling with third-tier Androind handsets already. Pick one and put the Amazon label on and bam! Kindle Phone 1.0.
On the software side, as long as this thing restricted to the U.S. and only countries where Amazon Store is available, Apple won't need to worry about it too much. Don't tell me iPhone 3S cannot hold the line at this price racket now in 2012.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Oak
If I were Foxconn, I'd think long and hard about arming the competitor of my biggest strategic customer
Foxconn assembles hardware (xBox's, PC's, phones you name it) for everyone and anyone, its their business model - so this isn't a big deal for them.
So, it seems like this Amazon phone may be for real. With their video streaming restricted to just the U.S., its hard to see where the upside is for them here if they don't make money off the phone to begin with, but lets see where they go with it.