Amazon Blaze, anyone? Online retailer to launch new smartphone in coming months, say reports

Rumours of an Amazon smartphone have been circulating the internet for sometime and we now have reports this week from the The Wall Street Journal saying that sources close to Amazon’s parts suppliers report that testing of a smartphone is well underway.

The online retailer is supposedly developing a device with a screen between four and five inches and it could begin mass production as early as late 2012. The latest iPhone 4S has a 3.5-inch display and Samsung’s impressive smartphone, the Galaxy S III, has a 4.8-inch screen.

Assuming the report is accurate, says website AppleInsider, Amazon appears interested in releasing a phone with a large display — which will certainly be of interest to filmmakers.

Amazon is working with Chinese manufacturer Foxconn, who make Apple’s iPhone of course, to produce its smartphone. The WSJ also reports that Amazon is looking to buy up wireless-related patents in order to protect itself from intellectual property threats.

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, AppleInsider reports.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on developments — especially as the new Apple iPhone is slated for release this autumn.

Rumours of an Amazon smartphone have been circulating the internet for sometime and we now have reports this week from the The Wall Street Journal saying that sources close to Amazon’s parts suppliers report that testing of a smartphone...