Amazon may have another smartphone in the works

Amazon's Fire Phone was a disaster by most accounts, but that might not stop Bezos and crew from giving handsets another try. In a speech at the Television Critics Association press tour (where Amazon has been very busy), studio head Jennifer Salke said she has the prototype of a future Amazon phone that would reportedly have a better interface for Prime Video. Salke didn't delve into specifics, to no one's surprise, but she claimed it was "much more intuitive" and that you could even see it in her office. Just let us know when you're ready to give a product demo, Jennifer.

The executive didn't know when the device would ship. Don't get your hopes up for an imminent launch, then. You might not want to treat this as definitive proof that a new phone is coming, either. As powerful as Salke is, she's an entertainment exec with little involvement in Amazon's hardware strategy. We've asked Amazon if it can comment.

If there's a handset on the way, it's likely to reflect more than a few lessons learned in the past four years. The Fire Phone's camera-based 3D effects and object detection amounted to little more than gimmicks, and its interface was focused more on selling Amazon products than helping users. Combine that with the high price, mediocre performance and one-carrier exclusivity and there was little reason to buy one unless you were a diehard Amazon fan. Hopefully, any new device would focus more on practical features and competitive hardware.

It's not farfetched to envision Amazon getting back into the smartphone business, though. Prime Video would be just one of the potential hooks -- a smartphone could be the key to putting Alexa in your pocket. You can already buy third-party phones with Alexa, but this could integrate the voice assistant on a deeper level. Not that Amazon would have an easy time of it. If this device ran on Amazon's in-house Android variant, you could forget about YouTube, other Google apps and much of what's in the Play Store. Amazon would either have to use a Google-approved Android variant with relatively little customization (such as what you see on Prime Exclusive phones) or accept that its phone came with significant software limitations .

Via: The Verge

Source: TheWrap



via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2mQ5iQr
RSS Feed

If New feed item from http://www.engadget.com/rss-full.xml, then send me

IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to...
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic...
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs? ...
Read more