Two different sources are reporting that Amazon and HTC have been in talks to produce the online retailer’s long-rumored line of smartphones. If true, the news is significant because it means that Amazon would be sourcing its hardware from a third-party manufacturer for first time. From the other perspective, teaming up with Amazon could save the company from hemorrhaging any more money.
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HTC isn’t exactly doing great these days, but that may change if a new (and secretive) partnership pans out. A new report from the Financial Times alleges that HTC has partnered with none other than Amazon on a handful of devices that could make their way to the e-tailer’s virtual shelves as soon as next year.
That is, if they make it to market it at all. The FT points out that the launch timeline for one of those smartphones has already been mucked around with once, and there’s no guarantee that Amazon will ever sell the thing.
If true though, this could be a huge huge deal for the Taiwanese phone maker. Putting strange choices like the recently revealed One Max aside, there’s little question that HTC is capable of putting together some top-notch hardware. And to hear the company tell it, a lot of its problems stem from consumer perception — the HTC brand isn’t nearly as prominent or memorable as Apple’s or Samsung’s, an issue the company has tried to turn around with the launch of an expensive marketing campaign featuring Iron Man Robert Downey Jr.
And for what it’s worth, it wouldn’t be the first time that HTC has entered into a curious, potentially game-changing partnership. The Taiwanese company linked up with Google in 2008 to product the very first publicly available Android device, and that relationship also saw HTC push out the inaugural Nexus smartphone some two years later. Then more recently there was the tie-up with Facebook which ultimately yielded the HTC First, the first (and so far only) device to ship pre-loaded with the social networking giant’s Facebook Home interface. In fact, the company’s seeming eagerness to ink these sorts of deals almost seems like a trait encoded in the company’s DNA considering its humble origins as a maker of white-label gadgets that other companies could slap their livery all over.
The notion of an Amazon smartphone is one that’s been floating around for years now too, though the report is bolstered by recent leaks that indicate that more than one device is currently under development. According to earlier reports, the company was at least considering acquiring RIM in late 2011 in a move that would ostensibly provide the online retail titan with the development know-how and IP portfolio to have a spirited go at cracking the crowded smartphone market. As I noted some years ago though, an Amazon smartphone needs to have a hook to help bring customers on-board, and the company is in a better position than ever to do just that.
Its very brand is going to be enough to induce some people to dive in, as are the potential price tags — this line of devices is expected to run the pricing gamut just as the current line of Kindle Fire tablets do. And then there are the seemingly little things. Imagine if Mayday, the video-call-in-distress feature that debuted on the Kindle Fire HDX wound up on a phone. Since Amazon isn’t likely to flood carrier supply channels with these its phones, the notion of an on-demand assistant to help with initial setup and subsequent problems would be a staggering benefit for people itching for a friendlier sort of smartphone. Throw in a reported “3D” interface that responds to user head movements and we have the makings of a device (or devices) that could really make some waves.
At this point it’s starting to seem like all the pieces are finally coming together to make a series of Amazon phones happen, and it’s not hard to see how both Amazon and HTC could benefit. And this could be just what HTC needs to turn things around, so it had better Hope To Christ (or, you know, whatever deity whose newsletter they subscribe to) that this deal turns out fruitful.
Amazon and HTC are partnering on the rumored “Kindle smartphone”, a new report suggests, with the struggling phone manufacturer in talks around building as many as three handsets for the retail behemoth. Of the trio of unnamed devices, one is “at an advanced stage of development” – potential the device believed to be codenamed “Smith” […]
Remember Webvan.com? A lot of people do, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone with anything nice to say about it. At the dawn of the internet retail revolution, Webvan was supposed to do for groceries what Amazon had done for books. The site failed miserably. But that’s not what futurists of the year 2000 predicted for it.
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We’re big fans of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HDX
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This article was written on June 20, 2008 by CyberNet.
Rumor has it that Amazon is planning to launch some type of e-commerce business to allow payments and money transfers which will compete with PayPal. Some of you probably know that Amazon already has their Amazon Payments service that allows you to send and receive money, and shop with your mobile phone, but it’s limited to Amazon and “their partners.”
From the sounds of it, Amazon’s solution would be more widely used around the web than the current Amazon Payments, or at least that would be the goal. Analyst Derek Brown talked about it recently and said that Amazon “may soon launch a PayPal-esque payments service for use by consumers and merchants across the web, potentially siphoning growth and/or profit from eBay’s crown jewel.”
We’re not sure exactly what Amazon will do to expand Amazon Payments and compete with PayPal but it might be welcomed. Some people are frustrated with both eBay and PayPal for various reasons and are looking for an alternative way to make payments online. With a name like Amazon backing a service, they could potentially gather-up some loyal users.
Analysts say the service could launch late Summer or early Fall, so we’ll be keeping our eye for more details in the coming weeks…
Soruce: TechCrunch
Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com
In life, it is always good to have a target – after all, it keeps you going and is the reason for existing, even when all other hope is snuffed out. Of course, one would also need to learn to manage expectations, and the same can be said of corporations as well. Amazon have recently shared their confidence in selling up to 2 million Kindle Fire HD tablets before November 2013 comes to a close. This might sound like a drop in the bucket for a company like Apple with their iPad, but where a solitary Android-powered tablet is concerned, it is still an extremely impressive figure. So far, there have been no reports of increased orders for the other tablet models by Amazon.
I suppose Amazon has good reason to be optimistic about the Kindle Fire HD, after all, it has been priced at a very competitive $139 and $169 for the 8GB and 16GB models, respectively. Not only that, they have received an overhaul in the design as well as hardware department, targeting the 7” entry-level tablet market. Do you think that Amazon will be able to meet their sales target before the Yuletide month kicks in? Only time will be able to tell, so all we need to do is sit tight and wait.
Amazon Intends To Sell 2 Million Kindle Fire HDs Before November 2013 Is Over original content from Ubergizmo. 
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When Amazon first trotted out the Kindle Paperwhite, it was the first two-tone ereader in a long time (possibly ever) to have wow factor. And that front-lit screen turned out to be just as beautiful as promised
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Amazon has announced that it has launched a new payment service that will allow websites to make Amazon customers their own customers. The payment service is called Login and Pay with Amazon. The service promises to streamline customer transactions with online merchants and makes it easier for buyers to pay. Anyone who shops online frequently […]
Google has been pretty busy lately, promoting their Chromecast, where they have recently extended the Chromecast’s compatibility to the official Hulu Plus app. For folks who happen to reside outside of the US of A, it seems that if you were to want to lay your hands on a Chromecast dongle, it is not going to be too difficult since the folks over at Amazon has your best interest at heart.
You will be able to make an order now, as Amazon has started to ship the Chromecast anywhere outside of the US without having to involve significant markups or fees. Users throughout Europe, Australia and China have also reported that they managed to place a purchase order the device without running into any particular issues. It can also be imagined that Google will start to sell the device directly outside of the US in the future, but right now, Amazon is the only legit and best option.
Of course, you ought to also take note that the Chromecast app right now happens to be available in the US, but that should not be an issue at all since there is the ability to sideload .apk files on the Android mobile operating system if you happen to have the technical know how to do so.
Amazon Ships Chromecast Internationally original content from Ubergizmo. 
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