Amazon plans to have another go at selling its own branded smartphones.
The ecommerce giant, which killed off its Fire Phone in 2015[1], is working on a new lineup of smartphones branded as "Ice", according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Unlike the Fire Phone[2] — for which Amazon focused largely on the US and a couple of other western markets — the company is eyeing emerging markets like India for selling its new phones, said the sources.
Amazon's upcoming smartphones run the latest version of Google’s Android[3] operating system with Google Mobile Services[4] (GMS) such as Gmail and Google Play, the people said.
Incorporating Google Mobile Services in its devices is a major change in strategy for Amazon[5], which currently offers a range of Android tablets without Google apps on them.
The smartphones are being referred to as 'Ice' internally, in what could be a move to distance itself from the disastrous Fire Phone brand, though it's not clear if Amazon will eventually bring the devices under the Ice name. Amazon declined to comment.
The company plans to launch at least one smartphone in India within this year, said one source.
One of the devices being tested features a display between 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch. Other specifications of the phone include a 13-megapixel rear-camera, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. The phone runs Android 7.1.1 and comes with Google's AI Assistant[6], said a source cited above. The phone, which houses a Snapdragon 435 SoC and a fingerprint scanner on the back, is likely to be priced at around Rs 6,000 (roughly $93), though the exact price will depend upon the...