We’re nearing the end of the two-week run of product announcements leading up to Apple’s iPhone event. Last week, Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Note 2. And today, both Nokia and Motorola showed off new hardware.
Tomorrow, Amazon will play the final opening act with a media event in Los Angeles, where it’s expected to unveil a handful of new Kindle tablets. But according to a new report, it may have a few surprises up its sleeves…
The Verge is reporting that it has learned that the retail giant may show off its long-rumored smartphone tomorrow. The handset, which has been whispered about for months, is said to be running a forked version of Android.
“Multiple sources have confirmed to The Verge that Amazon is working on a smartphone that runs a variant of the Kindle Fire’s Android-based operating system, and we’re now hearing that the device will be shown to the press tomorrow.
The phone itself is said to be currently unfinished, so if Amazon does announce it we wouldn’t expect too many details.”
Of course, Amazon’s services — App Store, Music, Instant Video — will come preinstalled on the handset. And it is said to be using Nokia’s mapping software, since, with custom versions of Android, Google Maps isn’t an option.
It wouldn’t surprise us if an Amazon-branded smartphone made an appearance at tomorrow’s presser. Back in July of this year, both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg confirmed that the retailer was testing handsets.
We’ll be watching Amazon’s event tomorrow and will report back with anything of interest. At the very least, the company is expected to announce an update to its popular Kindle Fire and a few other new tablets.
Either way, tomorrow just got a little bit more interesting.
What are your thoughts on an Amazon smartphone?