After working with Facebook on handsets like the First and Status, it looks like HTC may have found itself another big company to make smartphones for.
A new report from The Financial Times claims that Amazon has tapped HTC to make the hardware for three devices that are currently being discussed by the two companies. One of these phones is said to be at an "advanced stage of development," but the product's launch is still hazy because Amazon has delayed it before and could ultimately decide to never bring the handset to market. If Amazon does decide to go ahead with the device's development, a launch could happen in 2014.
Rumors of an Amazon smartphone have been circulating for some time now. The most recent report suggested that Amazon has a couple of different phones in its labs: one with a set of cameras and a 3D user interface and a second, cheaper model.
Whatever Amazon's got planned for its rumored smartphones, an HTC partnership seems like it could be a good idea for the retailer. Not only does HTC have much more experience in the mobile space, but it's also received quite a bit of praise lately for the design of its One family of handsets. What do you make of this new rumor? Does an HTC-made smartphone with Amazon's custom software sound like a device that you might be interested in?
