We fully expect Amazon to announce the Kindle Fire 2 tablet later today, but last minute rumours are doing the rounds that the online retail giant may have something else up its sleeve too: an Amazon smartphone.
Details are thin on the ground, but it seems the device will be shown off in prototype form at today's Los Angeles event, with the finished product to follow in the coming months.
The Verge says multiple sources have confirmed the news, which follows months of whispered rumours, and claims the Amazon smartphone will run a variation on the heavily modified Android build on the Kindle Fire tablet.
As with its tablet sibling, the Amazon smartphone will serve as a focal point for the company's software, services and online content. As such, it wouldn't be a surprise if Amazon opted for the same pricing strategy too: sell the hardware at a loss, and make the money back via apps and content.
There's no word on what sort of specification we can expect, but if Amazon does subsidise the price in the same way it does with the Kindle Fire, the entry-level smartphone market may be about to turn on its head.
