Amazon has denied claims it will be offering a free smartphone, killing off a welter of recent rumours suggesting the online retailer is plotting to offer a device gratis to customers.
Speaking to former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin, the company said: “We have no plans to offer a phone this year, and if we were to launch a phone in the future, it would not be free.”
The statement also kills any gossip about Jeff Bezos and co releasing a handset in 2013 to compete with Apple and Google.
The company has been widely believed to be working on a smartphone for aeons now, although a release date is now unclear.
What an Amazon phone would look like and how much it will retail for is once again a source of mystery.
Ad-supported models have been mooted, as have free devices for Amazon Prime subscribers.
A question also remains over whether it would use a modded version of Android, as on its Kindle Fire tablets, or opt for a different operating system altogether.
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