Amazon reportedly considering giving away Android-based smartphones for free

We’ve been hearing about Amazon building a smartphone for quite some time now. But this we haven’t heard.

According to tech reporters Jessica Lessin and Amir Efrati, Amazon plans to launch its smartphone for free to the public. Well, everyone loves free gadgets, but remember there is no free lunch. If Amazon does ever come up with this “free” smartphone, it could make users signup for some subscription service. For instance – one may have to pay for Amazon Prime, which is company’s loyalty program. This eventually means users will have to pay up for the phone in some other way. However, reportedly some people familiar with the matter said that Amazon wants the device to be free whether or not people decide to sign up for a new wireless plan at the same time.

Will Amazon offer a free smartphone?

Reports also say that the e-commerce giant is struggling to find a manufacturer as it wants to release a phone that carries a forked version of Android (just how Kindle Fire sidelined Google apps). This condition rules out many phone makers in Asia. It is reported that most phone makers have signed agreements with Google and will be building only Google-approved Android devices that come pre-loaded with Google apps.

Another familiar person said that the company has talked to wireless carriers about offering its phones, but would prefer offering them directly to consumers through its website. The free strategy could depend on several factors, including Amazon’s ability to work out financial arrangements with hardware partners.

However, it should be considered that mobile market strategy seems to be shifting to focus on software and services, and not hardware. Amazon already has an ecosystem around e-commerce, digital media and apps — including e-books, games and movies. It also has a fairly popular cloud service. And let’s not forget the bombastic Kindle sales. The Kindle Fire had even emerged as the hottest selling holiday gadget .