WSJ: Amazon testing smartphones with 4-5" displays

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
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.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    red oakred oak Posts: 1,087member
    If I were Foxconn, I'd think long and hard about arming the competitor of my biggest strategic customer
  • Reply 2 of 39
    mrstepmrstep Posts: 513member


    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.

  • Reply 3 of 39
    pmoeserpmoeser Posts: 80member


    Can't someone smarter than me check the FCC for evidence of a device submitted for approval?

  • Reply 4 of 39
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    pmoeser wrote: »
    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.
  • Reply 5 of 39
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    mrstep wrote: »
    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'll settle for the latter option, $8000 an AAPL share please /grin ...
  • Reply 6 of 39
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mrstep View Post


    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:


     


    Screen Shot 2012-07-11 at 5.00.19 PM.png
  • Reply 7 of 39
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I can see phones this size being popular for the elderly. I can see Walgreens also wanting similar sized phones for the same reasons, they'd fit in well next to the medical supplies section.
  • Reply 8 of 39
    waybacmacwaybacmac Posts: 309member


    It'll never work. Everybody knows you can't order from Amazon by phone. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm)

  • Reply 9 of 39
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    iqatedo wrote: »
    For those who are interested, courtesy of WolframAlpha:

    LL

    Those last two rows need updating ... Or will soon! Looking forward to my dividend payments this Fall.
  • Reply 10 of 39
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post





    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!

  • Reply 11 of 39
    markbyrnmarkbyrn Posts: 661member


    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. 

  • Reply 12 of 39
    trx1975trx1975 Posts: 6member
    ^ exactly.
  • Reply 13 of 39
    monstrositymonstrosity Posts: 2,234member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mrstep View Post


    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.

  • Reply 14 of 39


    Amazon makes even Facebook stock look cheap, but Linkedin is the king of overvaluation.

  • Reply 15 of 39
    seanie248seanie248 Posts: 180member


    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.

  • Reply 16 of 39
    raptoroo7raptoroo7 Posts: 140member


    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.

  • Reply 17 of 39
    raptoroo7raptoroo7 Posts: 140member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by markbyrn View Post


    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.

  • Reply 18 of 39
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    [quote name="RaptorOO7" url="/t/151206/wsj-amazon-testing-smartphones-with-4-5-displays#post_2144692"]…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.[/QUOTe]

    That's certainly not evidence of anything.
  • Reply 19 of 39
    fairthropefairthrope Posts: 249member


    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.

  • Reply 20 of 39
    sasparillasasparilla Posts: 121member


    Quote:


    Originally Posted by Red Oak View Post



    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.

Sign In or Register to comment.