There are more rumors — or news, based on the credibility of the reports — that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) has signed up suppliers in Asia to build a smartphone. The device would compete with the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and an army of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android-powered devices, led by the new Galaxy S III from Samsung.
Ongoing speculation is that Google and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) eventually will launch their own smartphones too. Amazon has the leverage of its presence in the tablet PC market because of its Kindle Fire. It also has one of the world’s best marketing platforms, due to the tremendous traffic to its site. But, given the crowded market, none of those advantages may be sufficient.
Douglas A. McIntyre
