Just a day after a report claimed that Amazon is working with HTC on its oft-rumored smartphones, some more purported details of the partnership have leaked out. Two sources speaking to Bloomberg claim that Amazon and HTC have been in cahoots since "at least June" on an effort to create smartphones to sell to Amazon Prime members. Amazon is reportedly interested in growing the number of people that access its Instant Video service.
As for when these mysterious devices might go on sale, well, that's still up in the air. Today's report echoes previous rumors in saying that Amazon hasn't decided whether or not it wants to move forward with its project. If it does, though, the retailer would reportedly like to sell its phones through the carriers.
Amazon has previously denied reports that it's working on any smartphones. However, there certainly seems to be a lot of smoke popping up lately for there to not be a fire in Amazon's product development kitchens. It might be kind of strange to see Amazon market a smartphone toward its Prime members, but the retailer does already offer some special perks to those users, including a selection of free video content. Giving Prime members the opportunity to buy an Amazon-ified smartphone could be another one of those perks, and it could also be a way tempt non-members to join the club.
