Today’s news that Amazon has acquired free Siri rival Evi is a fascinating insight into where the online retail giant is heading.
Having snagged voice recognition company Ivona back in January, it’s not too much of a leap to imagine that Amazon is prepping its own smartphone.
Here are five reasons why we reckon an Amazon smartphone makes sense.
The Kindle brand has become synonymous not only with e-readers, but also budget tablets.
Amazon doesn’t lack pedigree in the hardware business and the idea of a Kindle phone is not too far-fetched.
Using the brand name would guarantee instant recognition among wider consumers, surely the focus of Amazon as opposed to hardcore techie types jonesing for expensive devices.
As mentioned, the purchase of Evi is a prime factor in the development of a potential Amazon smartphone.
Being able to offer an Apple-like personal assistant on a budget device (of which more later), has huge appeal.
Tie that into Amazon’s retail business, meaning you could ask your phone to buy goods while you’re out and about, and the appeal is pretty strong.
One of Amazon’s prime facets is its massive content base.
There’s a well-stocked MP3 store, access to thousands of movies and TV shows, not to mention a library of books that few bricks and mortar stores can compete with.
If the device had a capacious screen, this could be a great all-round solution for accessing Amazon’s vast content package while being able to make calls, send texts and do general phone gubbins.