With the runaway success of Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet - the media-happy device owns over half the Android tablet market - it seems only natural that the company would turn to smartphones next.

Amazon's strategy of putting all its media content directly into consumers' hands has worked out well so far, so wouldn't the Seattle company take the next logical step?

Like the Kindle Fire, an Amazon smartphone would be a veritable home-shopping network - replete with Kindle books, Android apps and Amazon Prime video - only as a phone, so it would be the only device users would really need.

Given the anticipation that's built up around a product that's not even certain to exist, we figured it wise to compile all the rumors and speculation in one place.

Evi to be the Amazon Phone's Siri?

Back in January, Amazon acquired the startup behind a natural voice search engine similar to the Apple's Siri. Now the scent on the wind is that Amazon will be putting a chat-to app called Evi on its Amazon Phone .

It sounds logical, because Amazon would need this technology to be competitive, and it would be great on Kindle devices, too. Imagine yelling at those lock screen ads that you don't want Fifty Shades of Grey.

Amazon hires Windows Phone 7 head honcho

Amazon has added Microsoft's ex-Windows Phone General Manager to its stable of talent. Could this be a big name hire for developing the Amazon Kindle phone?

The former Microsoft man is named Kindel, Charlie Kindel, so we'd say he has the proper pedigree to help Amazon break into the market with an Amazon Phone or Kindle Phone, whatever the name ends up being. And despite the naming coincidence and the news breaking on April 1, we're confident there's nothing phony about this story.

"I'm building a new team going after a totally new area for Amazon. I'm hiring cloud and mobile developers and testers, program managers, and product managers," Kindel commented, immediately sending the internet into a flurry of rumors and sidelong interpretations.

Amazon phone to hedge its bets with a reasonable 4.7-inch display

According to Digitimes, so called "industry supply chain sources" have put a ruler to the Amazon Phone. They say the handset will have a 4.7-inch display, which would put it in between an iPhone 5 and a Galaxy S4 when it comes to visual real estate.

This supposed fact, combined with a rumored low asking price, suggests that Amazon is going for the casual smartphone user, one who does not want to spend a fortune and would like to be able to carry the phone in their pocket with ease.

Amazon phone will miss rumored Q2 2013 release date, still looking like a Foxconn product

It's all still the stuff of rumors, but previous rumblings pegged the Amazon Phone (or maybe Kindle Phone) as arriving in the second quarter of 2013. Now it looks as though that deadline will make a delightful whooshing noise as it blows past.

Somewhat infamous manufacturing mogul Foxconn is said to be on deck to produce the dirt cheap device. Its subsidiary Ensky Tech made the original Kindle Fire and now produces the Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Paperwhite, so it would be no shock at all to see the two collaborate on the project.

As far as what's causing the delay, a report at Digitimes blames the "engineering verification test period due to issues related to its mobile platform," saying that the process, "has not been as smooth as expected."

This is surprising, given the great deal of experience Foxconn and its partners have in this field. It has us wondering what Amazon could have up its sleeve that's making the phone such a bother. As always, rumors are like cheap takeout; they just leaving you hungry for more.

Foxconn to manufacture Amazon phone for summer 2013 release date

This might be the most concrete rumor yet regarding the Amazon phone. Supposedly the online retail giant has inked a deal with Foxconn to manufacture its first smartphone. Industry insiders also expect a summer 2013 release.

According to the reports, the phone may also have a dirt-cheap asking price of $100-200 (around £60-120/AU$95-190). This would fall in step with Amazon's strategy with its Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Paperwhite line, devices sold at highly competitive prices in order to get customers investing in Amazon's media library.

While the involvement of Foxconn is not surprising, since the company has become a prolific manufacturer of all things electronic, it is somewhat troubling given its reputation for overworked, striking employees. Maybe the Amazon phone will be one of the first devices assembled in American Foxconn factories?

Amazon Phone rumors catch fire

Rumors of an Amazon Phone started to catch on in late 2011, when analysts began predicting the Amazon Phone's existence, despite a lack of hard evidence.

That hard evidence, by the way, still hasn't made an appearance, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning away.

Kicking things off, analyst firm CitiGroup reported that it discovered the existence of the then-unheard of Amazon Phone through its "supply chain channel checks in Asia."

Analyst Mark Mahaney led the Amazon Phone charge, proclaiming that the bookseller was in cahoots with infamous Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn to build the device.

Other analysts agreed: "A smartphone would be a logical next step for Amazon," ABI Research's Aapo Markkanen told Wired in May.

"The lock-in effect of a great content ecosystem shouldn't be under-estimated," he continued.

Bloomberg fed more fuel to the Amazon Phone fire in July, when its anonymous sources ("people with knowledge of the matter") confirmed that Amazon and Foxconn remained hard at work on the smartphone.

Further, the same report claimed that Amazon is busy hoarding as many wireless patents as possible to defend itself from the inevitable infringement suits that follow any modicum of success in the market.

Windows Phone executives board the good ship Amazon

The summer heat must have helped the Amazon Phone fires spread, as July gave birth to yet another bout of speculation when two Windows Phone vets joined Amazon.

First Brandon Watson left the Windows Phone team to become Amazon's director of Kindle cross platform, then Robert Williams, previously Windows Phone's senior director of business development, joined Amazon as its app store director.

Of course, the mere fact that the two previously worked on Windows Phone in no way proved that Amazon had brought them on to work on its own phone - but then again, it's not that far of a stretch, is it?

To further stoke the flames, it appeared toward the end of July that Amazon's innovation center - Lab 126 - had been hiring workers to develop new mobile devices that would run on wireless carriers' networks.

In other words: an Amazon Phone. Imagine that.

Amazon Phone release date

In CitiGroup's original 2011 report, the firm predicted that the Amazon Phone release date would fall in Q4 2012, though that's looking less and less likely the more time passes without a peep from Amazon.

That doesn't mean it's not going to happen, of course, but other rumors since then have been somewhat less optimistic about the Amazon Phone release date.

Less than a week after Bloomberg's report that Amazon and Foxconn still had their collective noses to the grindstone, another source (this one from Amazon's component suppliers) told the Wall Street Journal that the bookseller was already testing Amazon Phone prototypes.

That report claimed that the device could go into production during the second half of 2012, and that the Amazon phone release could fall in late 2012 or early 2013.

Amazon Phone price

From the beginning, speculators foretold that an Amazon Phone would hit the low end of the price spectrum.

In part, it's assumed that Amazon would sell the device wholesale (or maybe even at a loss) in order to further expand its digital content distribution.

Every pair of hands holding an Amazon Phone comes with eyes, ears and a wallet, after all.

CitiGroup analyst Kevin Chang said in 2011, "For a normal brand like HTC, they need to price the product at $243 to make 30 percent gross margin. If Amazon is actually willing to lose some money on the device, the price gap could be even bigger."

That means the Amazon Phone price could sink as low as $170 or even $150, though Amazon would surely make up the difference somehow - just like it does with the Kindle Fire.

Amazon Phone specs

There's been little speculation about the Amazon Phone's specific hardware features, considering there's yet to be any official word - or even a measly leaked prototype image - to go off of.

But the WSJ's source claimed that the Amazon Phone's screen size would fall somewhere between 4 inches and 5 inches, placing it right in line with top Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 andHTC One X.

The Amazon Phone would at least need to perform well enough to reliably stream content and be integrated with Amazon's various media and cloud services, and the better the resolution, the more attractive the device would be for streaming video.

Battery life will be another important factor, as nothing will turn the average consumer off faster than being interrupted in the middle of "Real Housewives" by a pesky low power warning.

Will the Amazon Phone run Android?

An Amazon Phone is almost dead certain to run on some variation of Android, as Google and Amazon, despite occasionally finding themselves at one another's throats, can just as often be found sitting snugly in one another's pockets.

According to some reports, the retail giant has even considered stocking Google tablets like the Nexus 7 in its stores, indicating that their rivalry can't really be all that heated.

Besides, Windows Phone is sat firmly in Nokia's camp, at least for the lifespan of Windows Phone 8 - Microsoft's not about to throw away years of build-up just to hop in bed with Amazon.

That leaves BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, who - to be fair - is rumored to be shopping the BlackBerry 10 OS around for a licensing deal.

But there's a chance BB10 will be more or less dead on arrival, and either way, an OS swap at this point would just be too risky for Amazon, who'll already be tossing the dice with a smartphone gambit in the first place.

Furthermore, Citigroup's initial Amazon Phone report from 2011 claimed that the bookseller would have to pay royalties to Microsoft, all but spelling out that the phone would be another Android device.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Source : mobilemag[dot]com

British Telecom is on the lookout for a network partner to assist its re-entry into the consumer mobile market, following its surprise win in the UK's 4G spectrum auction last month.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that BT is preparing to make a major push mobile push after snapping up £200m-worth of 4G spectrum.

That'll mean the company will need a mobile network to help power any new service and with that in mind has begun a tender process to find the right partner.

The renewed mobile efforts could see a reunion with O2, which until 2001 was a part of BT's core business before being broken up and then sold to Telefonica in 2005.

Prefers a deal with O2

The FT article points out that O2, EE and Vodafone will answer BT's call, but the company is thought to prefer a deal with O2, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A deal and spectrum sharing arrangement would aslo be beneficial for O2, which didn't acquire any of the higher frequency 2.6GHz spectrum during the recent auction.

BT has so far been coy about its plans for the 4G spectrum it surprisingly obtained and has more than is required simply to boost its mobile network.

The report suggest BT will be looking to augment its home broadband experience by giving customers access to 4G connectivity and voice services when away from home or hotspots.

The company said: "We can confirm we're looking for a fresh partnership with a mobile operator. We won some excellent 4G spectrum just recently so it makes sense for us to explore the new opportunities that 4G presents. We have a strong position in the WiFi market and we are looking to build on that.

"[BT is] rolling out fibre at breakneck speed and it's obvious that customers want decent speeds when they're out and about as well as at home."

Source : techradar[dot]com

An invite has gone out inviting media to an event in London, where Nokia promises that we'll "See what's next" on the Lumia front.

"The Nokia Lumia story continues," the invite adds.

The invite also features a 60:40 colour block split: the larger side features thin pale blue stripes reminiscent of a banker's suit lining, under which you can just make out the hint that we'll 'see what's next'.

Meanwhile, the smaller part is in stock Nokia blue with white writing in bold and slim typeface, accompanied by the boxy Nokia logo.

Now we've told you literally everything about the invite, which you can also see above if all this is a bit TL;DR for you.

Stop, speculate and listen

What do we expect this to be? Well, if Nokia is flying a bunch of international journalists over to London for the big storytelling sesh, we can only assume we're in for something high-end.

That means we could be looking at the launch of the Nokia Catwalk, rumoured to be the follow-up to the Lumia 920 with an aluminium body but fairly similar specs aside from that.

Or the next chapter could feature the Nokia EOS, said to be a quad-core Windows Phone handset featuring that insane 41MP camera last seen on the 808 Pureview.

Or it could be both! One thing's for sure, whatever's unveiled better be more impressive than the Finns' mid-range MWC 2013 offerings or we'll be quite put out.

TechRadar will be on the ground at the event on May 14 so stay tuned for all the news as it breaks.

Source : techradar[dot]com

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has finally landed - and we loved it, as you'll see through our in-depth review. It's light, slim and powerful, and has the best screen we've seen on a smartphone.

But we know what you're like. You're already thinking about the Galaxy S5. You're looking at the S4 and wondering: "You know what, could Samsung have done better in some areas? Like make it FLY?"

Well, clearly you're insane if you're asking for that, but your point is valid: there's always more than can be done to make the ultimate smartphone. To that end, we've put our thinking caps on and done the work for the South Korean firm - here are the things that we simply must have on the Galaxy S5 to make it a success and beat the new HTC One:

A flexible design

Anyone using an HTC One will know that the reaction it inspires really is immense.

It's no exaggeration to say that more often than not, people will say: 'Wow, what's that?'. The sad fact is that we just don't get the same reaction from the S4, with most people just actually thinking it's the Galaxy S3.

One of its predecessor's main criticisms was that the use of plastic made it look and feel cheap (that even applies to the Galaxy S2 from a few years back – though not the Galaxy S, since few people took any real notice of the first iteration.)

When the S4 was announced, it didn't even need to be felt – people instantly criticised how cheap that all-plastic façade is going to feel.

Sure, it keeps the phone light (in fairness, the HTC One weighs a fair bit in the hand, by comparison) but Apple's managed to pull off glass and metal and lightness with the iPhone 5 so surely Samsung can manage the same. If only to annoy Apple even more!

The other ideal would be to utilise its flexible display technology - Youm - to bring some new techology to the new design. We're not talking a completely bendy phone (that would actually be rubbish right now) but how about the designs shown off at trade shows recently? That would be amazing.

Bigger battery

We always ask for these and the S4 has graced us with a larger power pack than the S3 – it's up from 2,100 to 2,600mAh. It's a fairly decent jump – but still likely to just give a day of moderate use thanks to that huge, sharp screen.

Just look at the HTC One – that has a 2,300mAh power pack yet struggles to exceed the 1,440mAh battery of the iPhone 5 in daily usage. The fact of the matter is that the OS has a huge part to play – so upping the mAh count doesn't necessarily mean a revolution in terms of endurance.

The Motorola RAZR Maxx has been out since last summer and manages to pack in a 3,300mAh battery, which genuinely puts the hours in.

Since Samsung is such a technologically advanced company, if it were to come up with something huge like a 4,000mAh pack that's slim to boot, it would nail the Android market (even more.) Come on boys – you have a year to do this.

Stereo speakers

Again we're drawing a comparison with the HTC One here but that's to be expected; especially since said device will be its main Android competitor (along with the Sony Xperia Z, of course, which we mustn't forget.) But there is something unique here.

See, HTC has raised the bar here – the sound bar, that is. Some assumed it would be a gimmick, putting two speakers on the front of the phone and calling it BoomSound. But here's the thing: it does sound amazing. To the extent that we often leave calls ringing longer than we need to so that we can enjoy the ringtone.

The Galaxy S4 doesn't go for anything so lavish – offering a mere grill on the back with a small speaker we fully expect to be loud, yet tinny. Sure, there may be limited call for deep surround sound or anything as elaborate, but why scrimp on features when including so much in other areas?

We imagine Group Play will be Samsung's answer – but considering that requires other Galaxy owners, it's a bit of a faff.

Samsung could really pull something unique out the bag here – especially considering it's got a proven relationship with audio extradordinaires Bang and Olufsen. Even the iPhone 5 speaker is fairly decent – so come on Sammy.. finger out, please.

FM Radio

Odd one this, but the S4 is the first Galaxy device to not ship with an FM radio. It's a bit of an add-on that many don't use, but others (especially commuters) are very attached to their FM radio feature on their phones.

Samsung's already stated that it left the S4 FM radio out not through any technical issue, but because more people are now streaming their music through YouTube and online services. Which is true. Apps like TuneIn Radio do offer a great service.

The problem is that you're reliant on a good web connection for this – at the very least, 3G, and even then, there can be problems with buffering. The majority of journeys will pass through different signal strengths and types and this just means that you'll have to stop listening to the radio whether you want to or not.

Sure, we know that firm decisions lead to progress (look at Steve Jobs refusing to fit a floppy drive on the original iMac) but this just smacks of silliness since it would have made absolutely no difference to Samsung. We're even thinking of writing to our local MP about it.

Beam it up, Sammy

We'll lay this on the line before we start: this is one of our more fanciful wishes, given the technology (and desire from many consumers) is a long way away. But we'd love to see a projector built into the S5. Samsung managed it already with the Galaxy Beam last year, even though that was a bit of a niche device. But it makes perfect sense.

Forget AllShare (or maybe not 'forget' but at least run it alongside) and turn the S5 into something that everybody can enjoy. The problem is now that if you want to share your photos/videos etc, you either have to buy a dongle or have a Smart TV. It's very niche.

Apple has managed to do well with marketing its AirPlay so you can stream YouTube etc to Apple TV but again, you have to fork out for an Apple TV to do it, then turn the thing on, change your TV input source and so forth.

Wouldn't it be great if you could just stream everything using a projector to a wall? Obviously, there are issues with light interference, but we're sure Samsung could invent something that overcomes that problem.

And with those amazing stereo speakers we're lobbying for, it would also sort out the audio problem. Hey, it could even lead to more uptake of things like WatchON, with people buying movies and then streaming them straight to the wall when friends are round. There's an incentive for you there, Samsung.

Streamlined TouchWiz

Speaking of WatchON, this would be something we'd like to see sorted: a true partnership with Google. Sure, we realise that hell is more likely to see temperatures drop below freezing before then, but the issue is that there is just too much choice.

We're all for freedom – but when you have both Google and Samsung trying to sell you songs, movies, books, apps and magazines at the same time, through competing apps, it gets a little tiring.

The app drawer is littered with more options than you can shake a stick at and for those who aren't completely au-fait with smartphone tech, it's a little confusing and intimidating.

Apple makes so much of the whole fact that it is just one company providing everything – the next best thing would be for Samsung to work out with Google a common strategy for sharing revenue here and at least streamlining it for the consumer.

We know it's not going to happen because Google won't want to favour Samsung – and also there is the matter of Samsung wanting to end its dependence on Google (hence the Tizen revolution we're not really expecting), but it's nice to dream of one, unified store.

3D screen

We've left this one to last as this probably sounds the most ridiculous – but it's worth giving it a moment's thought. See, screen resolutions have hit the ceiling now. Back when Nokia invented the 7650 with its tiny colour palette, we cooed.

When the 7210 came along with a square screen rocking 4096 hues, we gasped. And when the iPhone 4 launched with the famous Retina branding, it really was revolutionary.

But phones like the S4 and HTC One now have PPIs that destroy home flatscreen TVs. There isn't any point in making them sharper, because the eye can't discern any difference. We have, pretty much, reached a plateau.

3D's not taken off as well as it could have with TV's. Yeah, it's great to play with, but it's hardly making the waves that the HD revolution did. And it has been tried before with LG. Remember the Optimus 3D?

We only gave it 3.5 stars when it came out the best part of two years ago and there was a reason: glasses-free 3D just wasn't there. As we'd seen with the Nintendo 3DS, it tired the eyes very quickly, it had to be viewed at exactly the right angle and was pretty much just a fad.

Bearing in mind how much Samsung really wants to get one over on LG here (only recently, we looked at the intense competition between the two firms in Seoul), just think how much this could motivate Samsung to pull out a really decent solution.

There's a glimmer of hope here: Samsung has already patented the idea to use dual camera to track your eye direction, which would mean the 3D image would follow your eyes and would completely negate the need to keep your head in the 'sweet spot'.

App makers are more likely to make 3D apps for the Galaxy range because it is not an also-ran Android line but (at least some would say) the Android iteration to go for. And Samsung could sponsor these apps to get them in the Google Play store (or Samsung's own). Movies, the camera, games, even the OS, could be transformed with the right technique.

And there concludes our wish list. Sure, it's elaborate. And we'll be surprised if the less obvious points above make the final build of the S5. But there is no doubt that Samsung will already be hard at work on planning the S4's successor – and we'd love to see some really unique features introduced.

A year's a long time in mobile life. And we've seen just how much a company can go from HTC Hero to zero (OK, HTC wasn't quite at the lowest level – but don't ruin our analogy). HTC was the Android maker for a time and has been usurped by Samsung.

It may be on the up with the HTC One again – it certainly stands a chance – but the competition is fiercer than it's ever been. And it'll get uglier before it gets better. Samsung will need to work hard to keep its Android crown.

Source : techradar[dot]com

The Samsung Galaxy S4 hasn't even hit stores yet, but word's out that the Korean manufacturer is already working on a meaner, tougher version of its latest flagship handset.

According to TechView, Young Soo Kim, president of Samsung Gulf has confirmed that it's working on a rugged version of the Galaxy S4.

Apparently this gym-jock variant will offer water- and dust-proof smarts, which will see it match the likes of the Sony Xperia Z.

Ready to tough it out

Kim said that the rugged Samsung Galaxy S4 should be announced in the coming weeks, which means we may not have long to wait to find out more.

We've already put the Galaxy S4 through our in-depth review process with our phones and tablets editor Gareth Beavis dubbing it "a stunning smartphone that won't let you down". High praise indeed.

There's always a chance that the rumoured handset won't ever make it to market - assuming that it does indeed exist - and we reckon Samsung works on lots of projects behind closed doors. We're just going to have to wait and see.

Source : techradar[dot]com

If all goes according to plan, LG has announced that it will launch a flexible OLED smartphone before 2013 is out.

We'd already heard that LG was preparing to release its curved OLED televisions later this year - as well as providing flexible panels for other smartphones - but the Wall Street Journal now reports that the company will actually be putting out a flexiphone of its own.

The OLED panel will be LG Display's very own, according to LG mobile VP Yoon Bu-hyun, despite the company previously dismissing the the idea of using OLED technology in its phones.

Flexitech

A Q4 2013 release is currently on the cards for the device. However it's currently unclear as to how flexible the phone might be.

It might want to think about hurrying up though. Samsung has already given us a peek at Youm, its own vision of a flexible OLED future, at CES this year.

If nothing gets in the way - mainly supply issues - we fully expect 2014 to be the year that flexible phone technology takes off.

Source : techradar[dot]com

During the BlackBerry 10 launch back in January Skype was said to be "fully behind" the new OS, but it's taken the Microsoft-owned firm until now to actually make an appearance on a BB 10 device.

The Skype Preview app has now popped up in BlackBerry World - but is only compatible with the BlackBerry Q10, which is running the newer 10.1 version of BB10.

Skype will become official when the Q10 hits stores in Canada on May 1, with the QWERTY keyboard handset arriving two days earlier in the UK on April 29, while the US has to wait until late May.

BlackBerry Z10 support will follow soon after the Q10 goes on sale.

More blips!

While you wait for your first Skype call on your shiny new BlackBerry why not check out some more blips?

• Game over: Zynga shutting 4 titles as users sign off
• Touch webOS phone that could have been sees the light of day
• Call of Duty: Ghosts leaks online

Source : techradar[dot]com