After the not-so-pleasant experience with the Fire smartphone series in the United States, Amazon is gearing up for the second innings with the new aptly named Ice series.
NDTV Gadgets 360 has cited two company insiders to claim that e-commerce giant Amazon is testing a new smartphone, internally known as 'Ice' and if things go as planned, it will makes its debut before the end of this year.
Unlike the Fire series that was launched only in US, Amazon Ice smartphone will be first made available in emerging markets like India, which is slated to displace America as the second biggest mobile market in coming months. According to some reports, India has already overtaken the US.
Amazon Ice phone series: Most expected specifications
The upcoming Amazon phone is said to run Android's latest v7.1.1 Nougat OS and come with related apps such as Google Search, Gmail, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Google Assistant and Play store, among other Google Mobile Services.
As far as the hardware is concerned, Ice will be offered in two sub-variants — 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes. They are said to be entry-level phones and come with Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core CPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and a 13-megapixel rear-camera with fingerprint sensor below it.
Amazon Ice is expected to be priced around Rs 6,000 (approx. $93/€83), NDTV reported.
So far, Amazon has not made any official comments on the Ice series smartphone rumours.
Will Amazon Ice phone series find traction in India?
Given the leaked price and specifications details, Amazon Ice will most certainly attract the college-going youth and salaried middle class. Established players such as Xiaomi and Lenovo owe their success to the entry-level phones in India and Amazon is likely to enjoy similar success, provided it offers visually appealing phones and promises to deliver good after-sale service.
Watch this space for latest news on Amazon products.
