Amazon planning to launch a free (Kindle?) smartphone, report claims

Amazon is apparently working on a plan that would see the company build its own smartphone that it would offer to customers for free.

The information comes from a report by former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin, who spoke with anonymous sources familiar with the plans. However, speculation about Amazon developing a low-cost, branded smartphone has been around for a while, as VentureBeat’s Devindra Hardwar pointed out previously.

Amazon also doesn’t want customers to be required to sign up for a wireless service plan when they purchase the smartphone, according to Lessin’s sources. That could mean that the phone will be positioned as a prepaid product that potentially uses its own wireless network. Amazon was previously rumored to be testing a wireless service using spectrum from satellite company Globalstar.

At this point, none of the information has been confirmed by Amazon. We’re reaching out to the company and other sources for more information and will update the post with any new info.