Given its success in the tablet market, it has long since been rumored that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) would go down the route that a lot of large companies have in releasing a smartphone. Well, today the inevitable came to fruition as it was confirmed that the company which started as a bookseller will release its own handset in the next three to six months.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed today that Amazon will release a smartphone in due course. Kuo has an excellent reputation for accurately predicting Amazon’s moves in the marketplace, so this assertion should be taken very seriously.
Amazon smartphone to be based on Kindle tech
Kuo stated that the hardware utilized for the Amazon handset will be based on the technology already included in its e-readers and tablets. This naturally poses the question of whether an Amazon smartphone would be branded ‘Kindle’, which would seem to be a likely and logical prospect.
While Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) itself remains tight lipped on any development in this area, the analyst already has what he considers to be a strong idea regarding the sort of spec list we might see in an Amazon ‘Kindle’ smartphone. He firstly believes that a potential Amazon handset could feature as many as six cameras, including one primary rear camera as well as a standard front-facing camera which will be utilized for video chats.
One might wonder why such a large number of cameras is necessary, but Kuo asserts that four additional cameras will be utilized in a dedicated system which will be used for gesture controls. This will allow users to operate the Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) phone without ever touching the control panel; something that Kuo sees as a key selling point and a way of separating the Kindle smartphone from rivals in what is a phenomenally competitive marketplace.
Ecommerce emphasis
Kuo also believes that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has an excellent opportunity to differentiate its product in the marketplace by placing an emphasis on ecommerce, which would obviously feed into Amazon’s core business model. Given that Amazon is also the market leader in cloud computing, one wonders if they might long-term look to integrate their smartphone and cloud services in some way.
In terms of specs for the mooted device, Kuo believes that the Amazon phone will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor. Qualcomm processors have previously featured in Apple’s iPhone range, and are likely to be part of the iPhone 6. Quo also thinks that the Amazon smartphone will have a 4.7-inch display, and that its pixel density will be in the range of 300 and 320 ppi. Kuo predicts a plastic body for the device, a 13-megapixel main camera supplied by Sony, secondary cameras supplied by Primax, and a battery sized between 2,000 and 2,400 mAh. Some of these specs have already been independently confirmed by BGR.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s previous Kindle products have been extremely successful, with the company claiming that the Kindle Fire comprised nearly one-quarter of the US tablet market in 2012. With the mobile market diversifying into smartphones, tablets and phablets it will be interesting to see what Amazon comes up with to make its new device stand out.
